Beginning in Berlin - The first stop of the trip of a lifetime!

After an overnight bus ride to London Stansted airport, and a quick morning flight, Sara I land in Berlin, Germany very excited for the adventure in front of us. We checked into our hostel and immediately took a free walking tour of the city. Three and a half hours later we had seen the Brandenburg Gate, remains of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, old communist propaganda, the Holocaust Memorial, museum island, the TV tower, and the book burning memorial.

The Holocaust Memorial

Brandenburg Gate

On May 10, 1933 students from across Germany and members of the German Student Association burned tens of thousands of books as an “action against Ungerman spirit.” The book burning memorial, located in the middle of Bebelplatz, symbolizes this act of censorship with an underground room full of white, empty bookcase shelves. Just across from the Platz is Humboldt University, where Albert Einstein once taught and where some of the students who lead the book burning campaign attended. Every day, rain or shine, the University now holds a book sale out on the sidewalk in remembrance and as a sign of transition from the horrible events of the past.

Berlin is such an interesting place in large part due to the fact that Germany didn’t regain full sovereignty until 1990. There is a large counter culture in Berlin and graffiti is a common sight as a form of expression for local artists. Street art, as it is commonly called, doesn’t carry the same negative context there as it is not associated with gangs and violence. Instead, it is simply seen as a form of art and a way of reclaiming the streets of the city.

On our second Day in Berlin, we took a tour of Potsdam, a city just outside of Berlin, known for landmarks from when the Kaisers ruled Germany. Throughout the day, we saw Fredrick the Great’s Summer and Winter Palace, the tomb of the 99 day Kaiser, the Brandenburg Gate in Potsdam, and Palace Cecilienhof. Palace Cecilienhof is where the 1945 Potsdam conference was held to determine the fate of Germany after World War II. It is also the building from which Truman made the call to drop the atomic bombs on Japan.

After the tour, we returned to Berlin and went to the top of the Reichstag. This is the building which currently houses the German government, symbolically designed with a glass top representing how the people are able to see what is going on within the government and enabling politicians to look up and be reminded of who they are working for.

In the top of the Rechstag

Palace Cecilienhof