So to update on Munster, it is absolutely amazing. Everything about this town is worlds better than Dijon. The people are so nice and don't glare at you for speaking english, the dorms are sooo much nicer and come with stoves, fridges and our own bathrooms, everyone here rides bikes and not as many people smoke. The town also has sooo many shops, which would usually be quite dangerous for a young lady like myself, but somehow I have learned some self-control. shocking.
After arriving in Munster last weekend, we went straight to Berlin and that was quite the adventure. After a long morning of realizing the bus does not come to our bus stop and missing our first train by about 5 minutes, we were all waiting for the 10:10 train. Claire and I then realized we needed our passports for our EuroRail pass, which we didnt think we would since we were just traveling inside of Germany... but of course we were wrong. Instead of risking missing the 10:10 and taking the bus back and forth to the train station Claire and I decided to get a taxi... now usually taxi drivers are completely wreck-less and speed through towns almost running over about 5 people butttt because we are SOO lucky, claire and I managed to find the one taxi driver who was slow as molasses. So 25 euros later and cutting it extremely close to 10:10, Claire and I ran back into the train station, this time with our passports, to the platform. To our surprise the train had switched platforms... so we asked around and were told that the train had changed to platform 3, we sprinted over to the platform to find no train and none of our friends. We then ran around frantically looking for where the train was because we were on time, but of course since there were no workers around to help, we had no idea where to go. Thus, we missed the train by about a minute... our luck
We then caught the 10:32 train to Hamm, which is where we connect to Berlin. Arriving in Hamm at 11, Claire and I went over to the "departure board" to see what platform/ what time the train to Berlin was leaving. Of course the train was leaving at 11:02 at platform 9, so we sprinted over to platform 9. The train was still there, so we thought we lucked out. But as we pressed the button to open the train doors, they would not open and the train started speeding away. We then waited in the train station for an hour to get the next train and finally arrived in Berlin at around 330. What a trip!
After checking into the hostel and catching up with our friends, we all went out to this wine bar called Weinerei Forum. It was a really cool cafe kind-of setting and had lots of couches to relax on. The pictures they used to decorate were also very interesting and we all decided it would be a great place to go on a date. Alex and I got a wine called Montepulciano de Abrazzo, which was a red wine and it was delicious! I usually dont have red wine and didnt think that I would like it, but to my surprise it is the best wine I have had thus far. We also had a delicious carrot cake with our wine... that wine bar was definitely a good local secret that we found out about :) We then ate dinner at this restaurant called Berliner Marcus Brau, where they brew their own beer and serve traditional German food. Alex and I split a meal of german sausage, sauerkraut, and potatoes, it was delicious and exactly what I wanted as my first real meal in Germany.
The picture doesnt do this delicious food justice
Soon after stuffing my face with delicious German food, I almost got hit by a bus. literally. We were walking down the road looking for a supermarket and all of a sudden the sidewalk ended due to construction. Instead of using our common sense and crossing the extremely busy road with multiple lanes, we decided to walk single file on the road. We literally had to jump up onto a ledge ( which luckily was there due to the construction) and just missed getting hit by the bus that zoomed by, it was extremely scary yet funny at the same time. The scariest thing was that about 10 minutes later we saw a man crossing the road get hit by a car and the car didnt stop! The man hit his head so hard that we could hear it smack on the concrete. I was so shocked that the car didnt stop, but apparently Germans do not like J-walkers.
right after the bus went by!
While in Berlin we also did a 4 hour walking tour, which was free and the guides just got paid off of tips! It was such an amazing concept, they believe you should see the city no matter what your budget. So for a broke college student who is dwindling all her money away in Europe... this was perfect. Our tour-guides name was Simon and he was from England, from the University of Birmingham, and doing his study abroad for a year in Berlin. Simon was such a fabulous tour guide- I knew he would be, he's British- and knew so much about the history of Germany and great facts about Berlin specifically. We got to see so many incredible places, including:
- the Holocaust Memorial
- the place where Hitler committed suicide (we stood on the ground, which is now a parking lot, above where his bunker was)
- a lot of different plazas
- the Pariser Place
- the Berlin Wall
- Humbolat Universitaet, where some amazing people- including Einstein- studied
- Checkpoint Charlie
- the needle
- different embassies
- the French and German Cathedrals
- The Konzerthausorchester Berlin, which is a famous music hall
- The Hotel Adlon where Michael Jackson dangled his child, Blanket, outside the window
- Nudists on segways, which was very strange
- and so many more things I cannot remember the names to, unfortunately
Pariser Place
Holocaust Memorial
Ground above Hitlers bunker
a street named after me :)
Our tour-guide Simon
The tour was such a great decision because I got to see so much more than I would have if we had just walked around the city ourselves. We learned about how the Berlin Wall got taken down and the illegal/ arrest-able offenses regarding the Holocaust. Our tour guide also took us to this amazing cafe called Aroma Expresso for lunch which was so yummy!! Berlin has definitely shocked me, I had no idea how fantastic the city would be. I am in love.
On our last day in Berlin we decided to go to a concentration camp called Sachsenhausen, which is actually 35 km outside of Berlin. The concentration camp was established in 1938 and was liberated on April 22nd , 1945 by the Soviet Army.
old shoes and clothing
secret paintings done by a prisoner who was a painter
Our tour guide was really good and made us understand how horrible the Holocaust was to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. He described how the prisoners were de-humanized and tortured, which was extremely upsetting and hard to hear. It was also strange to know that I arrived at the same train station that all the prisoners did, that I walked through the town on the same path they did to get to the concentration camp and that I stood on the same ground.... it felt really eerie. While in the concentration camp we saw many things, such as bunkers where the prisoners stayed, the kitchen, a "resting" area for the Nazis where the prisoners had to wait on them, a memorial statue that was built, an extermination center and where they did horrible medical testing-mostly on children. I was extremely emotional that day as everything was very heavy and a lot to process. I cannot believe that people could actually harm others the way the Nazis did.
In the town on the walk to the concentration camp we saw a lot of triangle shaped houses. We learned that these houses were built by prisoners for the Nazis and their families, and what I found very strange was that people live there now. I could never live in one of those houses, I would feel haunted by all the suffering that occurred there.
Going to Sachsenhausen was an interesting experience and made for a very emotional day, but I am glad I went. I have been to the Holocaust Museum in D.C. before, but being in an actual concentration camp is something I really cannot describe, especially since it really wasn't that long ago.
That weekend was absolutely incredible! I got to see so many amazing places, learn so much history about Germany and even do my first pub crawl. I love Berlin and definitely want to go back multiple times within my life- maybe even live there :)
No comments:
Post a Comment