Orientation

I have been in Berlin now for five days, but it feels like I have been here for weeks.

Orientation with my program has been keeping me up early and very busy. I'm generally exhausted by the end of the day, but I can already say that I love it here. Berlin is a fascinating city with a lot going on. There is always something to do, and the public transportation system is amazing. Though people own cars, they still take the buses and bahns because it is less expensive and sometimes less of a hassle. Despite my horrible attempt on the first day, I now feel like a pro at the system, at least with the U-bahn and S-bahn.

Wednesday morning our program was given a tour of two bunkers dating back to the Cold War and WWII. It was chilling to visit the cold stone cell where thousands of women and children had huddled, frightened, as the bombs dropped over head, not knowing if they would be obliterated in the next explosion. The U-bahn rattled over our heads with a terrifying rumble every ten minutes. Just that noise was loud. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to hear the explosions of the bombs.

After the tour, I went with two of my friends, Sophia and Robyn, to Alexanderplatz at the heart of Berlin. We had doner kebabs, a Turkish version of a gyro with chicken, a famous delicacy in Berlin. It was VERY good. I've also become a fan of the soda water Germans love to drink (mit kohnlensäure). It is kind of like drinking pop, but with the added benefit of no calories.

Robyn then took us to Winterfelde, the most adorable coffee and chocolate shop that served scones and hot chocolate on china plates.

Heiße schokolade und ein scone

Thursday morning was my favorite, however, as we were given a three hour of tour of historical Berlin. It was around 15 degrees fahrenheit and a light dust of snow was falling, but it was completely worth it. I got to finally visit sights I had learned so much about. Many of them were breathtaking, some absolutely chilling, but the richness of Berlin's history never ceases to amaze me.

Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor)

The gate is the first thing you see when you come up from the U-bahn station, and it is truly a moment of majesty. It was built by a German king as a victory arch. Ironically, the first one to march victoriously through it was Napoleon. The gate was also right along the Berlin wall.

Red Army Tank

This tank sits outside the Soviet memorial, a memorial to the soldiers of the Red Army who died in the battle of Berlin in 1945. This tank was one of the first pieces of equipment to storm Berlin.

Reichstag

The central seat of the German government.

This was one of the most chilling. This memorial was only recently erected. It features a still, circular pool.

Berliner Dome (Lutheran Church)

 This church was built in 1903 despite its old appearance. It is one of the few buildings that survived WWII.

This, perhaps, was the most chilling location of all. This innocent looking parking lot was once the place where Hitler's underground bunker was located, the place where he committed suicide. The German government never did anything to memorialize this place for obvious reasons. Hitler is not a figure who should be memorialized. They also did not wish to create a rallying place for neo-Nazis. Only a small sign stands to show any recognition at all of the horrors that occurred here almost 70 years ago.

My host father, Gerd, is the sweetest man, and very fun to be around. He is close to 60 and a marathon runner. This morning he told me he was going to go for a quick jog and came back three hours later. He is currently studying mythology and philosophy at Freie Universitaet, and can read Latin, Greek and Hebrew. His English, however is not very good, so we mostly speak in German, which is quite all right with me. Tonight he took me on a tour of the city via bus and then to the museum of East Germany. We had a blast, me attempting to understand everything he was saying, and attempting to answer back in my broken German. He is as interested in history as I am so we had a great time perusing the artifacts of East Germany (ancient artifacts from the 70s and 80s) and he chatting to me about what he remembered about that time.

Tomorrow classes start, but I'm just as excited for that as being able to see Berlin. I love it here so far and have made many friends in my program. And I suppose I can call myself a true college student now because I have been to a bar.

I will end with a picture of myself in front of the Brandenburg Gate that my host father took, just to prove I didn't get these pictures randomly off the internet.