This is a very special post because not only was Germany the first country I ever visited, but this stop in Berlin on my first trip to Europe when I was 15 was my very first experience in a new country. Everything was so new and exciting. I am really excited to look back through my journal to write this post because those feelings of traveling abroad for the first time are some of the best feelings you will ever experience. While the love for travel and desire to leave and explore stayed with me way after this trip, it has never quite felt exactly like this trip again. Now I have expectations. I didn’t on this trip. I mean I did, but of course they weren’t based off anything since I had never been out of the country before. That’s what made it so life changing. Now lets gets started on the first destination of our World War II centered trip to Eastern Europe: Berlin.
Day 1
We landed in Germany around 2 pm. Stepping off that plane the only thought I had in my head was “I am in a new country!” It was finally happening. I had been dreaming about it for over a year. This trip was everything to me. My mom, grandma, and I had been talking a German class to learn some of the language before we left. I wasn’t very good as I only could really say “Ich bin müde.” Its important I suppose, but not really relevant to the trip.
We picked up our luggage, and while a few people on the trip lost their luggage, we were lucky enough to have picked ours up off the carousel. We didn’t have to go through passport control or anything since we had a connection in Amsterdam. Oh I could go on forever about how attractive the men stamping your passports in the Amsterdam airport are but this post is about Berlin, so I am going to stay on topic. We met our tour guide Juliane, a native of Germany who also just so happens to speak a bunch of other languages because of course it is Germany.
With her we hopped on our bus and headed for our hotel. Here we got assigned our rooms and who we were sharing them with. My mom and Grandma were staying together, so I had to share with some of the other girls on the trip, which was good, because even though none of my friends were on this trip, I was able to find a couple people I got along with. After settling in and getting changed we headed out to dinner.
Our trip was an EF tour so they had our dinners planned our for us at local restaurants, which is fun because the restaurant got to choose what dish they wanted to served us for an authentic experience. Instead of taking the bus, we actually took some trains to dinner, which was memorable because I still haven’t forgotten my grandma getting yelled at in German for standing in the bike lane. Germans take their bike lanes very seriously. I would be frustrated too if a big group of foreigners were blocking my path. Anyway for dinner we were served what I can only describe as a meatball patty served with potato salad and sausages because you can never have enough spiced meat! It was the dessert that was the most delicious with its tart greek yogurt base and cherries on top. I love cherries!
After dinner we got to do a little sightseeing. It was just enough to keep up awake and excited without being too much with the jet lag. We got to see the Brandenburg Gate. Although it was built in the 1700s, it is a symbol of peace and unity in Germany post Cold War. Just a quick history lesson for those who may not know because this is really relevant to reading this post and understanding what we were seeing and doing in Berlin. After World War II, Germany was split into two countries: Western Germany under the influence of the United Kingdom, United States, and France and then Eastern Germany under the influence of the Soviet Union. Berlin being the biggest city and the capital of Germany was also divided since it fell in the Soviet part of Germany. The Berlin Wall was built by the East Germans to not only separate them, but to stop those in the from the East from fleeing to the West. Eastern Germany was a communist regime and was a part of the Eastern bloc of Europe during the Cold War. Life there was very different from the West with a significantly lower standard of living. The legacy of the Berlin wall and this division lives on in Berlin like no where else I have been in Germany. It really meant something to the people of Berlin and you can still see that today just by the differences in architecture and stop lights in the different sides of the city. Now lets continue with the trip.
After taking a million pictures because, “Oh my gosh I am in another country!” we headed back to the hotel for an early night. The next day would be a full one and we were going to see and experience as much of Berlin as possible which meant we needed to be well rested. We had to have a meeting with the school chaperones and then spent as much time as possible in the lobby because the wifi was not great in the rooms and at 15 I wasn’t allowed to have an international plan on my phone because I was with my mom all the time anyway. My mom had went to a store and came back with some gummy bears for me. I enjoyed my German snack and then headed off to bed with dreams of Germany.
Day 2
What time did I wake up the next morning? It was exactly 6:35 am. What 15 year old wants to wake up that early… well one that was about to have her first full day in a foreign country! After getting ready for the day I walked with my mom and grandma to a grocery store, but it turned out not to be open until 8 am, which at the time seemed so absurd, but not looking back at it with all my experience in Europe I am like “Duh. Why would it be open before 8?” So we walked back to the hotel and dug into the hotel breakfast. I had yogurt, coffee, juice, eggs, potatoes, bread, fruit, and pretty much anything they were serving because I was so excited! I thoroughly enjoyed it. At 8:45 am we hopped on the bus and started our city tour with our Londoner tour guide. Our first big stop was the Eastside Gallery, which is the longest part of the Berlin wall left. It had paintings by 105 different artists. This was the stop I was looking forward to most. It was really interesting to not only see the wall that had divided the city but to look over the paintings and see their significance politically, socially, and artistically.
Our next stop is what is called Museum Island. It gets this name because located on an island in the Spree river is five of Berlin’s biggest museums: the Altes Museum, Neues Museum, Pergamon Museum, Alte Nationalgalerie, and Bode Museum. The first three feature antiquities from ancient Rome and Greece, the Middle East, and Egypt. While we didn’t go inside these museums we did see the influence of these on the building architecture. The last two museums were art galleries which we also did not go into. It was still cool to walk around the island though. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight for a reason. On this island we also saw the Berlin Cathedral which was amazing. Since I have seen more beautiful churches, but this was my first European Cathedral and I was in awe!
After having the major buildings of Berlin pointed out and explained to us we left museum island and headed for the holocaust memorial. The official name of the memorial is actually the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Germany does not shy away from its past. The people know the wrongs of Nazi Germany and are righting those. If you have ever met anyone from Germany you may have heard them talk about how there isn’t German pride like there is American pride. Patriotism in Germany is synonymous with nationalism and Nazi Germany, but I do believe that what is means to be German has changed. People from Germany are some of the most caring and progressive people I have ever met. You will really see this in Germany especially when it comes to talking about the Holocaust. That is why this memorial exists. Its an interesting design as it looks to just be a bunch of slabs of concrete with different heights. They gradually get taller and shorter from one end to the other. This is symbolic. It means “when did this begin and when will it end.” I can go on a whole rant about how this is relevant to the United States right now, but this is about Germany, so I won’t.
Then we headed over to Hitler’s bunker. Now remember when I said that Germany is righting its wrongs. Well Hitler’s bunker is not just a parking lot. The bunker was destroyed on purpose. Not only did the German’s not want to give any remembrance to Hitler, but they didn’t want the site to be used by neo-Nazis. For this reason is a parking lot. There is a plaque to explain its significance because it is good to know about the dark times in history as well, but other than this there is nothing to give this location any significance.
This was our last stop on the tour, so now we had some free time. We, along with some others in the group, decided to go to the Topography of Terror and Checkpoint Charlie. Topography of Terror gets its name from being the most feared place in Berlin back in the day and now it is a museum that is half indoors and half outdoors. We mostly explored the outdoor segment consisting of a trench. This exhibition was called Berlin 1933-1945: Between Propaganda and Terror. It follows the political and social sphere of Berlin during this time and how the Nazi party came into power.
This exhibition was in German and English which was really helpful. There are other exhibits here too from the site tour to the indoor museum, but we only did a small portion to allow time for other things. With that being said Checkpoint Charlie was the next stop which was the most common crossing point in between the Berlin Wall. Now it is just a little shack with some signs in the middle of downtown Berlin.
Now it was time for lunch! All of this and it was only lunch time! That is what an EF tour is like. You are doing as much as you can. For lunch we wanted German food so we went to a restaurant that was called “German Kitchen” but in German. I finally got to have schnitzel in Germany and it was served with a side of potatoes. I just remember thinking it wasn’t as good as the schnitzel the parents of our German exchange student has made when they visited.
After lunch as a group we met back at Topography of Terror so that we could take the subway to Alexander Platz where we had a few more hours of free time. This is the main square of central Berlin where the World Clock and the TV tower (also known as the Pope’s Revenge) are located. It is also the shopping district so we left to find me some German Birkenstocks! They are about 20 to 30 dollars cheaper in Germany than they are at home. We ended up at Shoe City where I got my first pair of Birkenstocks for 70 euros.
During this free time we mostly just explored and roamed the city. We ended up at St. Mary’s church which had a beautiful old organ. We also had to check out T.K. Maxx, Europe’s T.J.Maxx. It was a hot day so we got some gelato and just took in the city. With the time left before out 6:15 pm dinner time we checked out souvenir shops and 15 year old me got a kick out of the Berlin souvenir condoms in the shops. Looking back at it, I didn’t actually buy anything other than my shoes. I am the worse when it comes to souvenir shopping now. I buy so much, but I guess thats what its like having adult money.
We had to take the subway to dinner once again which really was an experience for the whole group. For dinner we had another meatball style dish but this seamed more like meatloaf to me. It was served with gravy, rice, and peas which many people did not eat. Dessert was mousse with a strawberry sauce. My favorite thing about traveling is you can eat two desserts in a day and it is totally acceptable.
After dinner we headed over to the Reichstag building which is Germany’s parliament building. This one we did get to go inside of and we got one of the most amazing views of Berlin. It included an audio tour that helped to explain the building we were in and those we were looking at. It was the perfect way to end the day. After a 14 hour day and walking nearly 10 miles we were done for.
The next day we would leave pretty early to see Dresden before heading to Prague, so we had to say good bye to Berlin. Stay tuned for my post about Dresden but you can definitely check our my Prague post now under my Eastern Europe page.
So my thoughts on Berlin: At the time, it was actually my least favorite spot on that entire trip, but looking back at it 8 years later I can appreciate that stop so much more. I have been to so much of Germany and Berlin is so unlike the rest of the places I have been. There is a clear different between Eastern and Western Germany still today, so I think is good that I saw the East. I can really say I have experienced and know Germany because Germany really is more than just lumber houses and pretzels. It is so diverse and has so much history. Berlin is key to understanding this and the German identity. I will cherish this trip forever, because I truly wouldn’t be the traveler I am without it.
The Journal of Wanderlust 