This past weekend I had the opportunity to take one last weekend trip. I chose to go to Berlin with James, one of the computer science interns, and three of the girls from St. Mary’s. I was excited to have the chance to explore this city because I am so interested in all of the history behind it.
James and I arrived in Berlin on Friday afternoon and we planned on meeting the girls when then got in from their later flight. After checking in to our hostel we ventured out to explore the city a bit. It did not take us long to realize that we may have been in over our heads. Looking at the map of the streets was so confusing because the street names changed from one name to another every few blocks, it definitely was not as easy to navigate as London. Also, we were not familiar with the German language at all. We eventually started to figure out the layout of the city and found our way to the places we wanted to go to.
Our first meal was at a restaurant that served traditional German food so we decided to try the speciality: currywurst. It was a type of German sausage drenched in a curry sauce served with french fries. It was very interesting to say the least, probably not my favorite but I am glad that I tried it. After dinner we headed over to one of the Christmas Markets. Berlin is famous for its many holiday markets during the Christmas season. The market that we stumbled upon was in a huge park with a countless number of vendors selling things from bratwurst and waffles to hats, ornaments and other Christmas gifts. It was so hard to not buy something from every stand I saw! After the market we met up with the other girls and walked around the city a little more, taking in the nighttime scenery.
On Saturday we got up and headed out to find the Holocaust Memorial and Museum. It was really moving to read about the tragic events in the city where it originated. After the Museum we made the short walk to the Reichstag, the German parliament building. Unfortunately we were unable to get inside for a tour. The day was topped off with more shopping at another Christmas Markets.
On Sunday we made it over to see the parts of the Berlin Wall that are still standing. It was amazing to think that this city was divided just over 20 years ago! There was also a line made out of bricks in the ground that outlined where the rest of the wall once stood. I really enjoyed learning firsthand some of the history behind Berlin. We flew out of Berlin that afternoon and when we arrived at Fiumicino I realized that the next time I will be at this airport will be to leave Rome to go home. As sad as I was to think about this I remembered how lucky I am to have been able to travel through this airport multiple times this semester to go to Paris, London, and Berlin. I am so thankful to not only have spent three months in Rome to also be able to travel. This is truly a once in a lifetime experience!
*Unfortunately, my camera broke a little while ago so I currently don’t have pictures from my trip. When I receive pictures from my friends I will add them to this post.
