Ich bin ein Berliner!!!

Hi everyone.  This is probably going to be my last blog until I get home.  :(  It is hard to believe that my time here in Germany is almost over.  It has been a whirlwind tour and I have seen so many neat things.  But, I miss my babies and husband and dog and am ready to go home at the same time.  We were all laughing in the group that when we get home, we are going to have to detox because of all the rich, heavy food we have been eating.

One picture that I forgot to mention is the first one below and they are called tripping stones.  These are all over Germany and they show someone who was killed in the Holocaust.  It tells their name, date of birth and when they were arrested, where they were sent and when they died.  It was very sad.  We have found many here in Berlin.

Our train ride in to Berlin from Dresden was an interesting one.  Me, and my crew- Shirley, Ellen, and Andrea were laughing and having a great time (we were asked to be quiet) when this older German man named Wolfram.  He asked if he could join us as it sounded like we were having a party.  We were kind of taken aback, but it turned out ok as he was hilarious.

We got a bus tour of Berlin right away and we got to see THE WALL!!!!!  For all of us social studies teachers, it was AWESOME!!!!!!!  I took lots of pictures.  There is also a picture of a bear that was donated to the city of Berlin by Eunice Kennedy.  The Kennedy´s are worshipped here.  We also went to the memorial of the murdered Jews.  It was very simple with gray blocks but downstairs there is a museum with letters and photographs of many who were killed in the concentration camps.  I had to leave because the stories were making me so upset.

Then we saw the Brandenburg Gate.  This gate is where German soldiers have walked through.  I also have a picture of the American Embassy here in Berlin and the hotel where Michael Jackson held his baby out the window.

We then went in to downtown Berlin and had an elegant lunch with an officer with the German Foreign Office.  It was very fancy and I got to sit next to her.  I WAS SO NERVOUS, but she was very nice and easy to talk to.

We then went to the German parliament building for a guided tour.  I also got to see where German chancellor Angela Merkel´s office is located.  (She is on vacation in Italy right now).

 Our guides then took us to a Turkish market.  Berlin has the 3rd largest Turkish population in the world besides Ankara and Istanbul.  It was very crowded but interesting to see all of the different foods and products there.  I got my dad a surprise.  We then had dinner and me and my crew went exploring around Berlin.  Berlin is way bigger than any of the other cities we have been at in Germany and much more dirty.  There is grafitti everywhere.  You can also tell the difference between buildings that were in the west and those that were in Communist East Germany.

Today we went to the Sachsuhausen Concentration Camp.  It was a POW/workcamp and only had men in it. It was not a death camp like Dachau but people did die and people were murdered.  It was very sad and hard to think about that I was standing on ground that men had been murdered on.  After that we had the afternoon free so my crew and I went to one of the museums called the Pergamon.  There I got to see lots of art and carvings and statues from the Greco and Roman eras.  It was so cool!  It was pouring down rain when we were done touring so we went back to the hotel.

Then we had a concert at the Royal palace church of the Prussian Royal family.  It was the Berlin orchestra performing Vivaldi´s 4 Seasons.  IT WAS beautiful.  As I was sitting there listening to the music, all I could think about was that kings and queens (Queen Victoria´s daughter Vicki later became Empress of Prussia) had worshipped in this place.  The music was great!

We have our last official meeting tomorrow about immigration and the problems the Turkish community has had here assimilating in German society.  Then we are going to rent bicycles and ride out to the summer palace of the Prussian royal family Potsdam and the famous place where Truman and Stalin met after WW II.

Then we are having a farewell dinner cruise on the Spree river and then our flight leaves Berlin Saturday morning at 9:00 am.  I should be back in to Des Moines by 10:30.  I have a feeling I am going to need a long nap!