Trekking Around Berlin!

Hello readers! As I discovered in England last year, Internet is harder to come by in Europe. Add this to the fact that our group left Cedar Rapids on Wednesday around noon and arrived in Berlin at 7 AM on Thursday. But we didn't sleep and instead, roamed around Berlin, taking in the sites. Needless to say, we were all pretty tired last night.

While I have several great blog post titles and stories running through my head,I'll just give you a quick overview first. I'm writing this post in the Wifi lounge of my hotel and need to grab breakfast before we take off for more memorials at 9 AM Berlin time.

Yesterday, we got off the plane and met up with our guide, Julie. Brian and I got a little separated from the group (more to come but don't worry, we're all fine, and it's actually pretty funny now!) and then we checked in at our hotel.

From there, we grabbed breakfast at a place nearby and got to attempt some German. It's funny because I want to speak French and French phrases keep bouncing around in my head. Luckily, Julie was there to help us out.

We then met up with our tour guide, Rick, who took us on a three hour walking tour of some of the major memorial sites in central Berlin. We saw the Reichstag (the parliament building for the German government), the memorial to the Russian Soviets killed in WWII, especially during the Battle of Berlin (the final battle in Berlin in 1945), the Memorial to the Roma and Seniti, the Memorial to the Homosexuals, the location where Hitler's bunker once was and where he eventually killed himself, and the remains of the train station where Berlin Jews were taken and sent off to work camps, concentration camps, and death camps.

The group thanked Rick and returned to our hotel to freshen up before heading out for dinner. After dinner, Julie took us to an area with pieces of the Berlin Wall and lots of picture, text, audio, and visual pieces to help better understand what the Berlin Wall was all about. It was fantastic.

And there you have it, a brief overview. I'll try to write more later today with more information. But moral of this post: I'm safe in Berlin, having a good time, and learning a lot!!