June 30, 2010: We arrived in Berlin International Airport and dropped our bags at the youth hostel called Amstelhaus. After a quick dinner, we went out into Berlin.
Our first stop was the William Frederick Gedaechtniskirche. After exploring a bit, we moved on the Potsdamer Platz and the Sony Center, a very modern, tight-knit area which has the appearance of being a giant tent with buildings inside.
July 1, 2010: Our official walking tour of Berlin. We travelled the entire city, hitting all the major sites. We took the bus to the Berlin Hauptbahnhof, or main trainstation. Located across the river was the Chancellory, where the Chancellor Angela Merkel works and has an apartment, and the Bundestag, or the capitol.
We then moved again right next to the Bundestag to the Brandenburg Gate. We wandered Alexander Platz and visited the Berliner Dom, which has a girth greater than that of the Vatican, and saw the Radio/TV tower which was set up by the Soviets in order to broadcast strictly communist radio. An interesting part of the tour for Jack and I came when we visited the Jewish Memorial, built to look like uniform waves with no distinction, the Radisson Blu Hotel, which homes a giant fish tank in the middle of the hotel, and a café called Oxymoron.
These places were significant because in a German III project, Jack and I had to design a trip to Berlin and those were all places we planned to visit or stay. That night, we went to a Biergarten for dinner where we enjoyed a Krakauer, or Polish sausage. After dinner, we were split into groups of boys versus girls and had to find a monument, take a picture, and find our way home without the assistance of our leaders, relying on our German to get around.
July 2, 2010: The morning began with some language classes to help students with weaker skills and to teach basic phrases for city survival. Later, with no maps and no English we had to ask people around the area of the Hacksecker Market to find 4 historic locations. It was definitely a challenge because many Germans would recognize the American accent and speak English. But we persevered and dominated the task.
Jack and I went into the KaDeWe, which is the enormous 8 story department store. Each level had something different from women’s clothing to men’s to sportwear to electronics to even chocolate and groceries. For dinner we finally got to eat the infamous Doenner- a pita-like pocket filled with lettuce, tomato, onion, sauce, and lots of lamb. I also managed to get my hands on Mezzo Mix, a coke and orange soda mix.
July 3. 2010: Had an official tour of the Bundestag and got to go on the rough to get a 360 degree view of Berlin. We also visited Checkpoint Charlie and the museum there. The highlight of the day was the trip to the Unter den Linden street which extended from the Brandenburg Gate to a monument called Siegessaeule. There we watched
the Germany versus Argentina
soccer match. This area of public viewing is the area shown on TV when they quick switched to Berlin and the fans. There presumably over 250,000 people there that day. And the celebration and chanting and cheering during the game was unlike anything we witness in America, especially since Germany decisively won 4-0. After the game, celebration continued on the streets of Berlin for hours, and we took part. Very exciting. When we returned to the hostel, an Argentine barbecued and we watched the Spain-Portugal game.
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