Before I arrived in Copenhagen, the Social Program at the school offered a social package along with 2 weekend trips to Bornholm and Berlin. I initially was just interested in the social package as to save some money since the trips were 1500 kr each (about $300). Upon finding out all the people who were going to Berlin, I then regretted not taking up the opportunity. Then I got a text last Monday from my friend who said a girl in her class was willing to give me her spot since she bought a ticket to Sweden for that same weekend. OMG was my reaction, lol. Was I really going to be able to go to Berlin?! I immediately skyped my mom to see if it was ok and she said go for it, so I did! It was also very good that there was 1 other girl who was selling her spot, so Michelle got to come too! Talk about all things working for good no? Chee.
Friday
Bus Ride
We needed to be at the meeting place 6:30am so we woke up at 4:30am to cook breakfast and pack lunch. If you know me, my classes start at 11:40 and 2:25, so my body was absolutely shocked that I was up 5 hours before I usually get up (never again...lol). We rode 2 hours on the bus, went on the ferry (which was pretty pimp I must say) for an hour, then back on the bus for another 4 hours before we reached Berlin.
our bus inside the ferry
inside the ferry, one of the food places
Berlin, First Reaction
After that long bus ride, we finally reach Berlin. Contrary to what all the German natives back in Copenhagen said, Berlin was SUPER cold! I looked at the weather and saw that it would be raining and such but when I asked people, they said it could not possibly be cold during this time. NOTE to self: listen to google weather.
Dinner
After we briefly settled into our rooms, we were off to our 3-course dinner at...
haha sounds great doesn't it?
It was actually very good. We started off with a salsa/tomato soup (cold), I had a goat cheese burger, then ended with apple pie and icecream :D
Brandenburg Gate at Night
After Dinner we decided to explore the city for just a bit. We decided to go Bradenburg Gate at night and boy was it a site to see!
Too bad the police car had to be there. There was an event in the morning that they were setting up for. It was a bit scary because the police were walking around with dogs. In all honesty though, since I didn't know I was going to Berlin till 3 days before we left, I didn't brush up on any of my Germany history. I'm glad we were accompanied by a friend who knew the significance of this place. I don't know if I'm getting this right but I believe it was the previous Nazi center and it was also the location where they announced the removal of the Berlin Wall. There is way more history than what I'm presenting to maybe it will spark your interest and you'd might wanna google it for yourself ;) tehe.
Saturday
Walking Tour
We woke up bright and early to get ready for our walking tour of Berlin. As you could imagine, there were many places where we stopped so I decided that I'm going to write about the places that I thought were interesting and that I could remember.
Holocaust Memorial
There is no explanation for why it is set up the way it is, so it is open for interpretation. Some people saw it as coffins, others saw it as Jews of all different shapes and sizes. You can't tell from this picture but as you go further in, the ground goes lower and the blocks become taller.
A friend of mine who is Jewish said that he saw it as what the Jews had to go through. Walking into it represented their hardship and persecution. When you reach the middle is where it was it's deepest, but then as you continue walking, you can finally see the other side until you've reached the end. Although it was such a terrible and dark time for the Jews, in the end they're still here. They still made it through and were able to rise from the adversity that hit them so hard and in a sense come out victorious.
No I do not take pictures of random pieces of land. Below this ground is a bunker where Adolf Hitler and his wife killed themselves. Our tour guide told us the story of Hitler's last birthday on earth and the main discussion of the night was how to effectively kill oneself. Hitler shot himself in the head and swallowed a cyanide pill as to not face the consequences of his actions.
The Berlin Wall
"Disappointed? Ya people expect to see the Great Wall of China" says our tour guide. So although the wall seems fairly short and not that hard to climb over, there were other factors that hindered East Germans to escape. There was actually another wall before this wall that they had to go over. If they did, the section between the two walls was essentially a death trap. If a person was seen in this area, the guards would immediately open fire. You couldn't really hide either because this section was covered with sand. If you somehow get to the wall, you would have difficulty grasping it because if you can see, the top of the wall had a round structure that makes it impossible to grip it.
The feeling of being so close to freedom...just on the other side of a wall.
Checkpoint Charlie
This was the main crossing point between East and West Germany. You could imagine all the escape stories that must of taken place here as well. Our tour guide said that East Germans would ask diplomats to saw them into the seat of their cars. Others would pretend to be American Soldiers and just walk right through. KEY is: Chew Gum. Then you are American, lol.
I am seriously proud to be American, for at least I know I'm free.. :D
Humboldt University of Berlin
This University is the oldest university in Berlin. It is home of 29 Nobel Prize Winners. The most interesting thing for me was the fact that Albert Einstein taught in this university.
Could you imagine being in Albert Einstein's class? oh em.
Rest of the Day
We went to many other places but these are the most memorable to me. After the tour we followed our tour guide to this restaurant where we had a german dish!
Schnitzel!
It was quite delicious I must say. We then spent the rest of our day shopping! 5 girls, 1 guy, so much fun ;) We of course went to H&M. What I noticed about Berlin was that there were a million H&Ms and a million Starbucks! From the short time I was in Berlin I saw 5 Starbucks. Then we went to a shopping street that reminded me of the Waikiki Strip without the beach and there were literally 5 H&Ms, on the same street! After the 3rd one I got pretty tired of it, lol. We then had dinner at an Italian Restaurant. We had 4 courses for just 9 euros! Amazing...
Sunday
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
On our way back to Copenhagen we stopped at a concentration camp and had a private tour. In reality, even if we were physically there and we had a whole lot of explanation, it was still difficult to fully grasped all that happened in that place. This particular camp's main purpose was for prisoners to work and not a death camp, yet there was of course mass murder that also occurred there. You couldn't expect anything but horror stories after horror stories, and it does get to your heart someway or another. The biggest thing that impacted me was the fact that these soldiers were brain washed to think that the prisoners were not considered human and should be treated like animals. Who has the right to say that a fellow human being is worthless? Especially in the case of the Jews. It just appalls me. It seemed like the whole world just watched it happen too. Also, the prisoners were stripped of their identity to the fullest. They were all given a number and from that time on that's all they were known as. My friend Lin and I were talking and said that we complain about so many things, but when you think about what other people had to go through, our problems are nothing compared to their hardship.
I'm so grateful for life, and freedom, and security...
map of the camp
11:07
time when the Soviets liberated the camp
work makes one free
this was on the gate of where prisoners entered
(soo not true...)
this is where the prisoners had to report every morning and night
each one of them had to be accounted for
pretty much a death trap
3 to a bed, so 9 to a bunk bed
and hundreds more on the floor
form of torture
they'd have their hands tied in the back, go on a stool and put their hands over the metal sticking out, then the stool would be kicked from below them breaking all parts of their body, leaving them in excruciating pain. This form of torture was used for when the soldiers wanted to find something out from a prisoner
jewish star
monument
After we left the concentration camp, it was another 8 hours until we got back to Copenhagen. I am very glad I was able to go to Germany though. Such rich history, though it may not be very pleasant, but we can't change the past, just improve for the future.
Aloha folks and thanks for reading!
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