A Close Call in Berlin...

I didn't know much about Berlin before arriving, but I must say that I learned more on this trip than any other. We only had two full days in the huge city, so we tried to make the most of our time by going on one of the famed free walking tours that is offered. I ended up learning so much about Berlin, and it made me wish every city offered tours like that because it makes you appreciate everything so much more. I found the history of Berlin much more interesting than Roman history because it has all been so recent and it makes it much easier to relate to than ancient Roman history.

Brandenburg Gate. One thing that's weird about Berlin is everything has been rebuilt since almost the entire city was bombed during the war.
One of the many Holocaust Museums...not the most uplifting way to start your day.
Part of the Berlin Wall! After learning all of the history, I couldn't believe Jeannie was there when it fell! It had to have been one of the craziest and coolest things ever.
I just had to throw this one in there. I hate to say it, but who brings their kid on a four-hour walking tour that is obviously intended for adults and poor college students? He was such a "memorable" part of our tour that I had to get a picture of him.
The Berlin Bears that are strewn all across the city reminded me of the pigs they had all over Seattle. I was a bit sad that the U.S. Flag was not included on the EU bear...If so I wouldn't be running out of money so fast!

Our tour guide stressed that we can't go to Berlin just once. It is such a rapidly changing city that it will be totally different in 5, 10, 15 years. This used to be a sort of "Palace of the Public" and now they are in the middle of de-constructing it. Who knows when it will be gone and what will replace it! There is so much construction going on in Berlin that it can be a little overwhelming at times.
This is at the Holocaust Memorial. I thought it was really cool, because designer Peter Eisenman left it open for interpretation. Some say the giant concrete blocks represent coffins and others say that when you walk through the maze of different size blocks that you are supposed to feel the confusion and uncertainty that was felt by the Jews. It is just one of those things that you have to go to and experience for yourself, I think that Eisenman leaving it open for interpretation makes people think about it even more.


The site of Hitler's Bunker was quite the surprise. I think it's quite appropriate that over his bunker now lies...a parking lot and a nice piece of grass where dogs can take shits.

Socialist painting on the SS Air force Headquarters.

One glorious thing about being able to travel outside of Rome so often has been the cuisine. At this point, all of us are soooo sick of pizza, pasta, paninis, and gelato. Hard to believe, but the Italians are so proud of their food...that they don't offer anything else in their country. This isn't so great for us students, since all of the REALLY good stuff is at high end restaurants where we'd have to blow over 25 euro. You'd be amazed at how crappy the pizza, pasta, and paninis can be here when you buy them off the street or from a cheap restaurant. Sorry about that little rant, but the food in other countries is always interesting. In Berlin, we sampled "currywurst" which everyone raves about, but curry powder dumped on a brat was almost too much for me to handle. But then the guy at our hostel recommended a Sudanese restaurant, and it was some of the most interesting/best food I've ever had! I can't even explain the flavor explosion, but we need to get a Sudanese joint in the states!

Another strange yet interesting part of the weekend was the weather. Quite the surprise, I know, but Friday was sunny and beautiful...Then it got ugly on Saturday. As Chrissy and I were walking back to the hostel in the extreme winds she mentioned how stormy it was and I just go, "Yeah, this kind of reminds me of the winds before Hurricane Katrina." Then she just says, "Don't worry Lauren, we're flying out tomorrow morning." At this moment I just turned to her and said jokingly, "That's what I said before getting stranded in a hurricane." As we walked back into our hostel cracking up over our conversation there is a sign on the desk that says, "Please shut your windows because of the storm." I asked the guy, "What storm?" And he just goes, "Oh, just a killer hurricane." Chrissy and I exchanged nervous glances, because we couldn't understand how serious the guy was in his German accent, then I went on the computer to find headlines such as, "Deadly Storm 'Emma' Slams Europe." I go on the read things such as, "Many flights have been canceled or delayed in airports such as Berlin, Austria, and Krakow." Great. At this moment Chrissy turns to me and just goes, "If we get stuck in a hurricane, I'm going to be so pissed at you." Luckily for us, we are home safe now and our flight miraculously got into Rome early! Don't know how I surpassed that one ...