Home is where... my bed is.

We have returned from Germany!  The flight was easy, though I was sick so not entirely pleasant for my sinuses.

We arrived in Raleigh yesterday evening and I was greeted by two of my lovely sorority sisters.  We stopped for a snack at a frozen yogurt shop and they prodded me for information of my time in Berlin, though they had also been following my blog.  I shared with them some of the details I have not shared with you yet, but will now.

Berlin has a strange social culture that I could not get a beat on.  It's like 90s grunge has made a come back in Berlin.  But no two people look the same.  The United States (especially rural and/or suburban areas) is not particularly individualistic in their style, most people are just cookie cutters of jeans and tshirts.  In Berlin I saw middle aged women with bright red or purple hair, all kinds of piercings, gages, tattoos, combat boots, stockings, camouflage, cut off jean shorts, half shaved heads, mohawks, faux hawks, etcetera.

Germany is also very liberal in many different ways.  It's perfectly acceptable to pick up a beer on the way home and walk around the street or the subway drinking it.

Sex is an accepted act.  Katie and I spent an afternoon lying in a park and people were incredibly friendly with each other knowing that there were hundreds of other people just lounging close by.

Dogs may as well be humans in the city.  They are every where, and are perfectly behaved in public.  I only heard one dog bark the whole time.  They sit in cafes, they ride the subways, it's totally normal.

English is very widely spoken.  Almost all signs are in German and English.  It made it easy to get around, but also gave us a crutch on which to lean.  It was rare to find someone who did not speak at least functional English.  In the US it's rare to find someone who speaks even a little of another language (if they're native).

All in all I loved Berlin.  I can't see it as a potential place to live.  Even though many people, especially our tour guides felt that Berlin was a great city option because it has every thing to offer but is slower paced and cheap for a capital city, I just couldn't see myself fitting in there long term.  However, it was a fantastic visit and I feel like I got a great perspective of the culture!

I am slightly jet lagged from the trip.  I literally fell into bed last night and was so thankful at how soft it was.  I woke up at 5:30 this morning, unable to fall back asleep I went to the gym, grocery shopping, cleaned the kitchen, made all my meals for the week, finished my book, and then went to work.  I am hoping that by tomorrow I'll be back on a relatively normal schedule but I do have to work early most days of the summer so it's not too far off.

In the news today there was a headline story about a US Airways flight from Paris to Charlotte that was forced to make an emergency landing in Maine because a woman was claiming that she had a device implanted in her.  Thankfully that was not our flight yesterday!!  We did have two slight medical emergencies on two of our different flights, both just people passing out for an unknown reason.

Wandering in Berlin

So to wrap up our trip we had a night out on the town!  We left the hostel around 1 am, arrived in line for the club at 1:30 (this is when US clubs are doing last call normally).  The club, Berghain, was recommended by two different and one said it was the best club in Berlin.  We waited an hour in line outside, just looking at the building which was an old warehouse.  The music was loud enough for us to hear outside and the windows were flashing purple, red, blue and green.  We got to the front and the bouncer asked how many, I said 6, and he rejected us.  We asked why and he responded, "we don't give a reason."  So we trekked back to the club that was right across the street from the subway station.  It turns out that place was great!  The cover charge was half the price, and there were three dance floors with different styles of music at each one.  We stayed in the one with the most people that was playing mostly American dance music, with a twist of 90s throw backs: the Spice Girls, the Macarena, and the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song.  We watched the sun rise from the dance floor of the club and at 4:30 decided to make our way back to the hostel.  It was full daylight by the time we laid down to sleep at 5:30.

Luckily the next day was our free day.  Katie and I decided to spend the day going to a museum.  We chose the Pergamon museum on Museum Island.  We got the full access pass so we were able to see the special exhibit that was a panoramic view of the ancient city of Pergamon that was located in present-day Turkey.  We entered the special exhibit, walking up 5 stories of a scaffolding type tower in the middle of a round room.  At the top we were greeted with a life-like portrait of the city in its hay-day.  The exhibit went through the day, getting light and dark.  In the dark you could see fires glowing in the piece.  There was also a soundtrack that went through the day also, peaceful noises at night and bustling noises during the day.  It took the artist 11 years to create the view.

We continued through the museum viewing sculpture pieces, like the ones below recovered from the ancient city.  There was also an entire section on Islamic art which I found very beautiful.  I have a fascination for Middle Eastern culture.  I wanted to take Arabic in college, but UNCP didn't offer it.  Realistically I will probably not be able to work in a field that allows me to experience the Middle East, but I find it interesting to learn about regardless.

I'd also like to say that visiting a museum is on my 101 in 1001 Challenge!  So, yay for marking off #11!!!  And I learned something while I was at it.

We wrapped up Sunday evening with our farewell dinner at another traditional German beer garden getting our last fixes of sausages, strudels and beer (for those who enjoy it).

And then auf wiedersehen, Berlin!

Day Excursion to Potsdam

Today was our last scheduled day.  We took a day trip to Potsdam, a town southwest of Berlin in the state of Brandenburg.  Our tour guide today was named David.  He is from northern England and currently in Berlin writing his dissertation for his PhD.  All of our tours have been through Berlin Walks company, and if you ever visit Berlin I highly recommend them!

So Potsdam was previously under Prussian rule.  It has many palaces within walking distance of each other, and all connected through a waterway that also connects to the river that runs through Berlin.  The palaces are now controlled by a foundation that maintains them.  They have been turned into hotels, restaurants, conference centers, and/or museums.  After WWII it fell into East Germany and USSR control.  The town houses one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen!  It's commonly referred to as the Versailles of Germany, Sans Souci palace.  It was built by Frederick the Great as a summer home.

Left: the gardens, Center: the palace, Right: the view of the terrace looking up from the gardens

For lunch we had a Turkish pizza, which is similar to a Turkish Doner but rolled up.  It's made up of a pita style bread, shaved lamb meat, cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and some special sauce.  They are quite delicious, but also quite large!

After our tour of Potsdam we did a little shopping around Berlin.  I took myself to Zara and H&M in this fantastic mall!  I was very excited to find a few nice new things!

We are going to a club tonight that has been recommended to us twice, and once referred to as the best club in Berlin.  We've been told it's an old warehouse renovated into a club with three levels... should be very interesting!!!  Time to get my techno groove on again!

Small side note, as I'm writing this in the lobby of the hostel a crossdresser just asked me to join a pub crawl that apparently leaves every night from the hostel lobby.  Berlin's culture is quite liberal and we have been enjoying some of the aspects and trying not to show our shock at others.  More to come on the cultural differences later.

Dresden: A Town Renewed

Today we took a day trip to Dresden which is about two hours south of Berlin.  Our tour guide today was named Torbin.  He was born in Germany, but grew up in Long Island.  He has lived in Berlin for almost 12 years.  Dresden is a popular tourist destination because it was bombed in early February of 1945, a mere few months before the end of WWII.  Since it's destruction in 1945 the city has been steadily reconstructed in its original form.

The town was established as a Slavic settlement in the medieval times and was in the kingdom of Saxony (now the German state of Saxony).  There is a lot of history, regardless of its destruction and many buildings have incorporated pieces that were left from after the bombing with new structures.  As in any traditional European city it was influenced heavily by the Renaissance and particularly Baroque art.  The figures are very expressive and span the city in gods and mythology.  The figures behind us in the picture below is Hercules holding the world in place of Atlas in exchange for golden fruit.  This represents the green houses we were standing on top of.

In front of the fortress and the green houses

As the history of the city still remains even though the buildings are actually 20th century productions, the lineage of the royal family is portrayed on a wall in the middle of the city.  You cannot see it in this picture, but the stone that is being used to recreate the city has a chemical reaction to the weather which turns it black over time.  City officials tried to clean it to make it look nicer, but it weakens the rock so they've stopped.  It actually looks older when it oxidizes.

Lineage of the royal family

There are many historical churches throughout the city that house multiple artifacts not destroyed or only partly destroyed in the bombing.  They house organs, altars, art work, and even the heart of Augustus the Great, the previous King of Saxony. 

One the wall is an etching of a Walk of Death, where Death is leading
all types of people (workers, children, clergy, etc) symbolizing that
it doesn't matter what status you are, you all end up the same place

The city was really beautiful and gave us the traditional feel of a European city that Berlin does not have.  There were grassy areas, a river, and open air!

Memorializing Those Lost

Today was a somber day as we visited Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Oranienburg.  There is a lot of history and appalling facts to learn.  As young students we learn the overview and maybe some minute details during primary and secondary school, but this was a completely different experience.  It is haunting and almost unreal the number of people that were sent to the camp (38,000).  It was built for 10,000 and when you walk into the camp it's actually not as big as you would expect.

The victims of the camp were labeled by stars that represented why they were targeted, eg. criminals, homosexuals, Jews, gypsy, political party, etcetera.  Sachsenhausen was predominantly an adult male camp.  Two or more stars did not bode well for the prisoner.  For a long time there were no Jews in the camp, but later they were sent also and separated into a specific part of the camp.  There was a production section of the camp because the Nazis desired to be efficient in every thing they did, so it was only sensible to make the prisoners work for them also.

Our tour guide, Finn, explaining the Last March

In the early 1940s the Nazis created the extermination plan to eradicate all people victimized by the Holocaust.  The easiest way for them to do this was to send them on a march in the middle of the winter  to the sea for them to die of exposure.  The ones who were left were going to be put on barges loaded with explosives and sent into the sea.

The road leading up to Sachsenhausen camp

The town of Oranienburg is actually quiet quaint.  The road leading up to is lined with houses that were previously inhabited by SS Officers.  It is strange to me that people can live so close to the camp and live in houses previously owned by SS Officers, but I also understand that you can't live life in a state of fear of talking about the issues and remembering history so as not to repeat it.

The gate to Sachsenhausen

We entered Sachsenhausen camp through the above gate.  The clock at the top of the gate is stopped permanently at 11:07 to remember their liberation when the Soviet soldiers took over.  The gate is marked with a phrase in German that translates to "work liberates."

Today was an incredibly windy and cloudy day so it was quite cold.  We were standing in the middle of the camp listening to Finn tell us how one of the Chief officers experimented with a process of natural selection at the camp one winter when the ground temperature was -30 degrees celsius, the outside temperature -27 degrees celsius and knee-deep snow on the ground.  He required all the prisoners to stand outside in their roll call formation all day.  This killed many which allowed for the SS to not feel guilt for personally murdering them.  We all felt pretty awful for complaining about mid 50s and windy.

There are several museums located throughout the camp to show artifacts such as the uniforms that were standard.  One of the artifacts is the corpse collection apparatus.  It looks like a wooden structure of a wheel barrow.  The other prisoners were required to collect the corpses and dispose of them, or sometimes stand up them in roll call formation.  All deaths were reported as something other than the real reason, ie. exposure or killed in flight.

Finn also explained several of the torture tactics to us, such as hangings, running around the track in shoes two sizes too small with a bookbag full of bricks for an entire day, hanging backwards by the arms, and starvation chambers.  The whole process of dehumanizing the prisoners.

There was a special prison located on site that was run by the Gestapo.  This was for criminals or people hated by the SS.  Stalin's son was held captive there.  The SS tried to bargain with Stalin his son for a valued soldier the Soviets had captured, but he did not find the bargain fair (as for the rank of the soldiers).  Stalin's actual last name was something I cannot even attempt to spell but it reminded me of jujubes.  He changed his name to Stalin, which means steel.  Hitler also changed his name from Schickelgruber.  Two of the most infamously evil people in history felt it necessary to change their names to something that would give them more clout.

Our second to last stop on our tour of the camp was Station Z (the "exit") which housed the showers, the shooting room, and the ovens.  Finn explained to us what occurred in those areas and also explained that there was so much ash the SS would mix it into the concrete for walkways.  The track throughout the camp is called the Walk of Bones because of this.

The ovens in Station Z (the "exit")

A demarcation of a mass grave of over 2,000 lbs of ashes

Our last stop was the medical barracks and the experimentation barrack.  The medical experiments were done with the least amount of ethics possible, but a lot of information was discovered through this, especially with penicillin.  The SS were also experimenting in creating an amphetamine to make their soldiers last longer in the field, it is now known as speed.  After the war was over there was a controversy over whether to keep the findings or throw them out because of how they were obtained.

An autopsy table in the medical barracks

Soviets ran it as a prisoner of war camp after liberating the victims of the Holocaust.  It was considered a silent camp, once sometime was taken prisoner there they were never heard from again.

This clearly isn't all the facts and history that was shared but a good general overview of our day.  Some of us felt strange about taking pictures of the camp, but we decided that people would probably rather be remembered than forgotten.

German Government

Today we visited the Bundesrat (Upper house) and Bundestag.

The Bundesrat (Upper house)

The Bundesrat definitely wins in the better tour!  It was a private tour with a civil servant who works with public relations for the institution.  He took us around, explaining the history of the building and the process of the Upper house.  The Bundesrat is in the prior Prussian Noble house and has a lot of the original architecture (though updated).  Germany has a proportional representation system and coalition governments.  The delegates represent each Lander (region) of Germany, there are 16 in total.  The delegates do not face as much political pressure for reelection which allow them to do politics in a more sensible manner.  The parties must receive at least 5% of votes to earn seats, this is to eliminate the presence of radicals.

One of the last remaining guard towers from the Wall
can be seen from a window

An architectural innovation that symbolizes democracy.
It is motion censored, the poles represent goddesses and they "dance"
when people enter the room.  The tie this in because the Upper house moves
with the direction of the people (entering the room).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Bundestag in the Reichstag building
every piece of the architectural design symbolizes some
aspect of the country

The Bundestag is in the Reichstag building, which was the previous home of the Third Reich.  It is politically incorrect to call it the Reichstag alone because the word "reich" was used so much during the Nazi regime.  It is most appropriate to call it the Bundestag in the Reichstag building.

We took a tour around the building, learning about the processes and the history there also.  Unfortunately our tour was with a lot of other people and I missed many of the details.  However, it did stand out to me that plenary has stenographers that write in short hand.  The fastest can get up to 500 syllables per minute.  They only work for 10 minutes at a time because it takes so much concentration.  There are 620 members and there are no assigned seats so the stenographers must know each individual member and what party they belong to in order to record it.  Also the Bundestag has the most visitors of all Parliament houses in the world, especially because of the dome on top of the building that you can walk up.

The view from the dome of the Bundestag

We passed this display of a piece of the Wall on our walk to the Reichstag building.

A piece of the Wall

Berlin Nightlife!

So we have been out to a club once so far, last night.  We made the trek to club MATRIX which was not particularly easy to find, but well worth the journey.  On our journey to the club we stopped for snacks at a Doner house where the guys tried to auction me off to a Turkish man for 100 euro.  What great friends!!  The club was mostly techno and then some American dance music also.  I naturally broke out my best techno moves courtesy of my European friends!  We had an absolutely fantastic time and can't wait to go out again!!

Just a cool picture from the club

Standing on the platform in the middle of the club!

Other cultural experiences:

We visited the Germany Philharmonic last night also.  I was expecting classical music, which would have been excellent, but I was presently surprised with a "music of the worlds" tour.  This consisted of a narrator reading a book explaining the neighborhoods in Berlin and musicians played specific songs expressing each neighborhood, for example a Turkish neighborhood with a song that sounded similar to an Islamic call to prayer, an oriental song, a few other more "traditional" sounding songs, etc.  After intermission all the musicians came together and played songs as an orchestra which was meant to express the entire city working and living together.  Some of the most interesting instruments were used in this performance!  One looked like a broken tree branch and was used in the oriental portions.  At the end the orchestra performed a song called the Dragon Dance which was absolutely fantastic!!!

We weren't allowed to take picture in the Philharmonic
but I did snap a quick one of the set up prior to the performance.

I also tried the Bobba Tea, wasn't all it's cracked up to be.  Maybe had I been able to order in English I would have liked it better.

Mango Bubble Tea

Diplomacy from Both Points of View

Yesterday we visited the Federal Foreign Office and spoke with a Consulate worker on behalf of Germany.

Germany holds the ideology of global disarmament and peace.  Germany's pillars of political importance are European Union integration, transatlantic relations, and responsibility for the security of Israel.  Germany takes their relationship with Israel very seriously.  As can be imagined the original relationship between the two was strained but Germany has made great efforts to repair relationships with the nation.  Germany's largest embassy is in New York City and the US and Germany have a very close relationship. China actually surpassed the US as the most important economic partnership Germany has.  This stems from imports and exports between the two countries.

Germany places renewable energy very high on their list of transatlantic issues, whereas the US has not taken as proactive a stance on "going green."  The two countries do differ on that issue.  Otherwise Germany's top topics are terrorism and cyber security.  Germany is actually one of the United States' greatest supporters in the war on terror and has many troops abroad.

The US Democratic party is the one that aligns the most with Germany ideology.  Germans love Obama! They like that he is younger and an African American.  The previous Chancellor did get along with or even like President George W Bush and therefore the party change was refreshing for the US-German relationship.

Popular book selection in a department store, The Obamas.

Also, pre-1989 there were a lot of US soldiers stationed in Germany.  Germans were used to seeing Americans on a regular basis.  Now the troops stationed in Germany have decreased dramatically and seeing Americans is less common.  A very interesting bit of information: Germany is slightly concerned with their role in the world.  It used to be common for German to be offered in high schools in the US.  The levels have been decreasing and it concerns the country.  China made a very large monetary contribution and PR campaign in the US to offer language classes.  Germany is now trying to renew the levels of interest in their culture.  I had absolutely no idea that countries propositioned others to offer classes in language in culture!

Later in the afternoon we visited the US Embassy and spoke with a Foreign Service Officer.

Outside the US Embassy

The US objectives in Germany are:

• pre-1989 it was about Germany being the center of the Cold War
• now we work more with them on the Euro crisis, NATO, Afghanistan, etc.

Germany is behind in defense in terms of what the US would prefer.  NATO requires that members spend 2% of their GDP on defense.  With Germany being one of the US' greatest allies, especially in Europe, their training of troops and advancements in military technology is important.

Germany has a lot going on right now!  The G8 summit is coming up, the NATO conference is in Chicago next weekend, and President Karzai of Afghanistan is actually in Germany right now meeting with government officials to discuss how Germany will continue to help the nation past the 2014 troop removal deadline.

The Office we spoke with is on her second Foreign Service tour.  Her first was a "hardship" tour in Azerbaijan.  She shared with us details of her first tour from where she stayed, to cultural norms, to difficult circumstances she faced.  While she was in Azerbaijan she worked with human rights and was instrumental in getting bloggers released from jail for creating and sharing a video online dissenting the government.  She worked a lot with freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and allowing opposition parties in the state.

We also asked her opinion on whether the US has lost its stronghold in the world.  She expressed that she doesn't think it has.  She did not specify whether she feels the world has transitioned into a multipolar world with the US and China, but she does not think that the US will lose its clout any time in the near future.

Overall the day was very enjoyable and educational!!

Social Politics

Today we went to Schwartzkopf Stiftung, a foundation that educates student groups on various special topics.  We did a discussion on the European Union.  They two presenters, David and Christian, structured their discussion in an interactive way, breaking us up into small groups to focus on particular topics within the EU.  At the end each group shared what they had learned and the processes associated with the particular section.  For example, we went over the number of countries as members, the voting process, the Council of Ministers, accession into the EU, policy and issues, and lastly we talked about the prospect of Turkey joining the EU.

Turkey applied for membership in the late 1980s and has yet to be granted entrance.  There are many factors in this decision, but it mostly boils down to this: too culturally different (being Muslim), too poor, and too large (the EU has proportionate representation and Turkey's population would automatically allow them more seats than Germany).

We then discussed the difference between saving and social spending, and what balance is necessary to have an economically successful state with content citizens.  Of course every one's opinions on this differs.

Our next stop was Humbolt University.  This was a lecture on the political and social changes incurred from the migration of Turks into Germany.  The professor gave statistics on the immigrants and how its changed the cultural landscape of Germany.  Afterwards was a Q&A session where my classmates were able to clarify concepts or ask for more opinionated answers.  Many people are curious of the German reception to Islam in their country.  This is common topic for many Christian based nations.

For dinner we ate at a great sushi place!  I had my normal California roll and then also a pumpkin roll.  Scrumptious!

Two things I want to do while I'm here: try Bobba Tea and ride a bike around the city.

History Lessons

Today we took a four hour private walking tour around Berlin.  Our guide's name is Jessica.  She is quite the world traveler!  Her mother is from the US, her dad is Estonian, she was born in Germany then moved to Australia then back to Germany.  She studied in the UK and the Netherlands and is now back in Berlin.  She was quite insightful and knowledgeable (as she should be for a tour guide).

The highlights of the tour:

This memorial has always been a tribute to something (ie. victims of the Holocaust).  Presently it is a tribute to victims of war and terrorism all over the world.  The statue depicts a woman holding her dying son.  It is displayed in a building all of its own with a hole in the roof, the reason being that no matter the weather conditions the pain, sorrow and strength then gained remains.

This memorial is displayed in the square where books were burned that were in dissent or counteracted the values of the Nazi regime.  The square is in the center of an intellectual and cultural area with Humbolt University and an opera house.  The burning of the books sent the message to others that ideas that did not align with the values of the Nazi regime were not welcome.  The memorial is a pane of glass that looks down into an empty room with empty bookshelves that could house all the thousands of books that were burned.  It is behind glass to resemble it is in the past and cannot be revisited.  The plaque states, "If you start with burning books you end up burning people."

The below photo depicts the inside of the S and U Bahn station.  The green tiles are the original from when it was built by Hitler in the 1930s.  During the period of separation the stops that were located in East Germany were closed.  No one was allowed to get off or on the train, it just rolled through.  SS guards would patrol the platforms to ensure no East Germans tried to enter West Germany through the subway.  Upon reunification the stops just had to open up, sweep and allow people in!

We visited a Jewish memorial that was created by the city.  The residents showed some resistance to the memorial because it was only representative of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust.  The second photo is of the above ground display.  At first glance it's the columns just look like different sizes, when you walk through it the ground is actually in waves.  Under the columns is a museum that delves into the history of the Holocaust and then tracks some families through their journeys.  The first photo is Ben reading of the family's history.  We learned, while we were there, that the gas chambers were actually full of vehicle exhaust.  It was never specified what type of gas was used I just always assumed that it was mustard gas or something similar.  Ben and I also discussed how Jews from all over Europe were sent to concentration camps.  After rehashing our history classes we remembered that Germany had gone on a power trip trying to occupy territories.  This resulted in Nazi influence throughout Europe.  The map has also changed significantly since WWII so many of the victims that were located in Estonia, Lithuania, etcetera were in previous USSR controlled states.

Ben reading a family history in the Jewish Memorial

Above ground memorial for the Jewish victims of the Holocaust

The following picture is of the remnants of the Berlin Wall.  Our tour guide shared a lot of information with us today.  This piece is left in a place where no one is allowed to build anything any more, except a museum for memorial.  The wall is disintegrating which the residents want because it represents the disintegrating harsh feelings between East and West Berliners.

Some other notable information: Berlin is actually a relatively poor city (as a political institution).  I asked our tour guide to clarify this because Germany as a state is seen as the economic powerhouse amongst the EU member states.  Germany makes a lot of its money from its exports.  To maintain low prices for exports means they must keep wages low.  There is no set minimum wage in Germany; educated people should make around 20 euro per hour.  Unfortunately most people do not meet this, our tour guide, who has her Masters degree, said people normally range from 12 to 18 euro.  To ensure that countries rely on German exports they must also meet the needs of other nations, for example the financial bail out in Greece (although defaulted).

Germany has a large Turkish immigrant population (you will learn more about this later after our lecture about immigration).  We ate lunch at a Doner house and our lunch consisted of the below photo: lamb and vegetables in a pita-ish pocket.

Making Acquaintances

We have arrived in Berlin!  After a car ride, three flights, three movies during the flight, two short layovers, a bus ride, a tram ride, and a walk we made it to the hostel!  We just stayed long enough to drop off our bags in the waiting area and headed off to lunch.

Today there is a soccer match at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.  It is Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund.  Apparently this is a very important match!  We ate lunch at Hofbrau Munchen which is a Beer Garden.  That restaurant in particular is Bavarian in origin and so is the Munich soccer team.  Therefore all the Munich fans were at Hofbrau starting their encouragement of their team.  Now, I'm friends with plenty of international people, and especially those who have a passion for soccer.  I have never experienced anything like these fans.  They were all singing cheers, and the whole restaurant would join in!  They were all dressed in the team colors and clearly anticipating a win!  After we left lunch walking back to the hostel there were groups of people chanting and cheering randomly in the streets.  Ben plays American football, so he isn't much of a soccer fan.  He was asking me why the fans are so enthralled by the sport.  There are many reasons, but the primary ones being it is an international sport and therefore a common ground for many, and also the teams are related to their nationalities or groups with which the fans identify.

Munich fans

A former student of Dr. Freeman's is living here in Berlin and he joined us for lunch.  We talked about the Department of Defense (which he works for) over weisswurst which is a white sausage served with a pretzel and sweet mustard.  Our conversation was a little strained over the excited singing coming from the Munich fans.

After lunch we decided to check into our rooms at hostel and rest.  The room is tiny, tiny, tiny!  However, we don't need a lot of space.  The hostel is painted crazy colors: the lobby is lime green and purple, our room is red, white and blue, the doors are spray painted with the room numbers spanning the whole door vertically.  The hostel is hosting some kind of "party" tonight to watch the Munich v. Borussia Dortmund match tonight.

The S bon train is above ground, and is very nice.  The U bon train is underground and is a typical subway system.  The bus is interesting-- very packed with a myriad of people.  We took a bus from the airport to the S bon and then the S bon to our hostel.  On the bus there were young and old, foreign and national, dogs, gypsies begging for money, and more.  Our suitcases took up so much room on the bus I felt bad because people kept trying to walk by but just couldn't make it.

More people than expected speak English.  German is very difficult to pick up on for me, and I find myself wanting to speak to people in Spanish just instinctively.  But we are certainly managing.

My roommate and I spent about an hour talking.  We were discussing how traveling abroad makes us appreciate our own culture and own lives more.  And also the surreal feeling that we are on "vacation" where the people of this city wake up here every day and have their whole lives here.  While it seems like such a simple, obvious statement when you look around it's strange to think that the person walking next to you knows the perfect place to eat and you're just searching for a street sign.

Itinerary for Berlin

To get you all amped to follow my trip in Berlin I want to share with you the trip's itinerary!

Saturday morning arrive in Berlin, check into our hostel.

Lunch at a traditional Beer Garden, walk around the neighborhood, and see remnants of the Wall.

Sunday

• Walking Tour around Berlin, lunch and visiting Checkpoint Charlie Museum

Monday

• Meet with experts on the European Union (EU) and US-EU relations
• Visit Humbolt University to talk about immigration issues
• Potential mixer with students from the university

Tuesday

• Visit to the Federal Foreign Office to talk about Transatlantic Relations and Germany's Role in the EU
• Walk up and around Kurfurstendamm Strasse
• Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
• Europa Center
• Tiergarten Park
• Lunch at Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe), second largest department store in Europe
• Free afternoon
• Evening at the Berlin Philharmonic 

Wednesday

• Private tour of the Bundesrat (upper house)
• Private tour of the Bundestag (lower house)

Thursday

• Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp tour
• Free afternoon

Friday

• Excursion to Dresden

Saturday

• Excursion to Potsdam

Sunday

• Entire day free (some of us have talked about going to Poland for the day)
• Farewell dinner in Berlin

Monday arrive back in North Carolina.

Today we had our last class meeting on campus before leaving.  We watched a German movie, Goodbye, Lenin.  The movie was set in East Berlin prior to the reunification.  The story line is about mother who is a strong Soviet advocate, she has a heart attack and falls into a coma.  While she is unconscious the Berlin Wall falls and reunification begins.  When the mother wakes up her children create the illusion that East Berlin is still under Communist control.  They spend months creating facades down to the jars of food and fake news shows, orchestrating plans to hide the truth from her for fear the shock would give her another heart attack.  The movie delves into the transitional issues the East and West Germans faced with reintegration as one country.  As citizens of the US we frequently assume that every one loves capitalism and wonder why any one would want any other way of life.  We assume that all Germans living in the East wanted to reunify with the West.  The movie illustrated that some Germans living under communism actually enjoyed the lifestyle and were advocates of Communism.  I caught myself off-guard at points when the characters were advocating Communism, which just goes to show I am enculturated into Western values, especially that of democracy.

Pre-departure to Berlin

As many of you know I am taking a little "vacation" to Berlin.  It's a study abroad trip coordinated through our International Programs office at UNCP, and faculty led by my advisor.  Yes, I just graduated a few days ago, I actually reenrolled in school as enrichment seeking to take this trip.

I absolutely love going abroad!  I go as often as I can (many thanks to my parents for supporting my passion for travel).  Since I was young I have had a fascination with the world, other cultures, and learning about people.  I have been to fourteen countries outside of the US.  Some of these were day trips or stops, and some longer stays.  Many of my close friends are from other countries.  People used to ask me why I was so drawn to these people.  I would tell them that my major was international relations, I was simply supplementing my education.

I have been to Germany, Frankfurt specifically, but it was ten years ago.  All I really remember was driving through a black forest and buying a cuckoo clock.  Normally I don't like going a place I've already been since there is so much to see in the world; however, this is completely different since I've never been to Berlin and I am at an age to experience it in a completely different way.  I am absolutely ecstatic to head back to Europe!

The past two days we have had class on campus to prepare us for leaving.  We have discussed culture, society, food, norms, greetings, history, and some crash course German.  I realized Monday sitting in class my international suitcase is at my parent's house.  My parents were just here for graduation and brought my converter set, but I completely forgot about my suitcase.  Thankfully I have amazing sorority sisters who are my lifesavers most days of the week, so I have borrowed a suitcase from Amber.

A few weeks ago Dr. Freeman asked me what I am most looking forward to about our trip.  Well, it's hard for me to pinpoint one thing because we are doing so many things, but the one thing I absolutely must do is rent a bicycle and ride around the city.  I am also thoroughly looking forward to eating new food.  I love food!  Love is kind of an understatement actually.  I love to cook, I love trying new food, new flavors, things I would not find in the US.  I'm actually not big on red meat, I have named myself a "poultratarian" because I only really eat poultry; but I am open to trying new things in another culture to fully understand their way of life.  To my understanding so far Germany has a lot of "meat and potatoes" kinds of food, so I will be eating a lot of red meat.  One girl going is a vegetarian, so I plan on trying a place with her also.  I'm also not much of a beer drinker, but you can't go to Germany without trying the beer so I'll give it a shot.