Day One: We got up super early to catch a train to catch our train to Berlin. Once there, we dropped our bags at the hostel, and went on a City tour on foot. We ate at Punk Pizza that night and everyone enjoyed it and the atmosphere. This is the third round of Punk Pizza experience which has writing on all the walls, and while we are not allowed to write in the walls, I can't promise nobody wrote on the bathroom walls (And Stuff...) I guess they just had to leave a mark...and they are not alone.
On Long Distance Train Travel:
I actually prefer travelling by train over plane or
car. With planes, it is too much of a
hassle—there’s no scenery and it’s less comfortable. Traveling by car is slower and you actually
have to do the driving, but there are some advantages like freedom of direction
and being able to stop when needed. The
reasons I believe train travel is the best method of travel is because there is
room to walk around and there is a bathroom and the scenery is beautiful. Being a giant with back problems, the space
is especially nice. It is a shame that
train travel isn’t as popular in America.
--Cayden
Having never been on a train before, it was interesting to
feel the difference between travel by train and travel by car. I liked that I felt free to walk around the
train and talk with my friends .It was
easy to fall asleep and feel comfortable while fitting in those seats. I had heard that the train was very fast, but
it didn’t seem as fast as I imagined. A name like the bullet train sounds like
you will be shooting off at the speed of light.
My face didn’t even feel pushed back!
Overall, it was easy and relaxing
--Ashley
--Dane
Traveling by train by for four hours is much better than traveling via other modes of transportation. There is actually a bathroom, unlike a car, it is a little nasty, but so are rest stops, and it beats waiting for three hours for one. I also prefer train to airplane because it is a little roomier, and you can walk around without worrying about rushing back to your seat if you hit a bump. There are also isn't an annoying flight attendant walking by asking you if you have trash every 15 minutes, even if you are asleep.
--Sierra
On the City Tour:
Berlin is one big human place. One block has more history, emotion and realism than many other places all over the world. It's pretty easy to see while on a walking tour that every building of this city has been fought over more than once, the damaged bricks marking the somber occasion of war and death in the form of bombs and bullets. We listened to stories of great statues and magnificent pieces of art being stolen, and bunkers being destroyed. The architecture telling the stories of lives ending. Regimes ending. The very beginning of a country rising out of the he ashes of war and separation. Berlin is a city of struggle, triumph, and a perfect page marker in the book of human history.
--Reilly
 |
| Cayden at the Holocaust Memorial |
 |
| Whole group at the Brandenburg Gate |
The Reichstag building was a capitol building for Germany before a fire destroyed it just before Hitler took power. The building wasn't used at all during this time, it was just ignored. years after the war, the Reichstag building was refurbished including a large glassed dome, where you can see the activity of Congress below, and is now used as a the government building to show how transparent the government action is now. They have nothing to hide. I think this is unusual way to make a government trustworthy and I would share this idea in my country.
--Zach
 |
| Reichstag Building |
During the Berlin tour we saw a lot of different things that provided a lot of different emotions. A lot of the time, I didn't even really know what to do with them. I was angry during most of it and just wanted to yell, even though I knew it wouldn't help very much. It was very moving to see the wall and all the different art pieces that were created in honor of the people who were murdered during the war. I could definitely recognize the pain, and see a torture that was once present in the area that we walked through, despite the people who just walk through this every day place.
--Ivy
The city tour through Berlin was a little overwhelming at
first, but I loved it. The history
information we were given wasn’t overwhelming; it was just enough information
for me to walk away feeling educated and informed.
–Abbee
Day Two:
Tuesday, we hit the ground hard and were slowed down by the fact that unexploded ordinance (WWII bomb) was found near the tracks. What normally would take an hour to Sachsenhausen, it took us 2 hours. The students experienced the down side of public transportation but did not allow that to affect their experience. The overall mood was somber as we walked into the camp where we saw remnants of the camp. The tour was a fact filled overwhelming experience, placing them in the place they have only read in books or have seen in movies. Later than night we went to the DDR museum where we were able to interact with East German technology and culture with a night cap at Baraka, a Moroccan restaurant. It was a heavy day for our travelers but they all left with a new found appreciation.
 |
| NELA circled around a model of the camp. |
 |
| Reilly contemplated the killing floor. |
Sachsenhausen Holocaust Memorial:
As this is my second time visiting here I experienced very different feeling then I had felt the first time. Two years ago when first visiting I went into the camp with almost no prior knowledge of what it was. I remember as I walked around each knew thing I saw hit my harder then the last. Seeing the barracks with 400 hundred men crammed in a small room was crazy, but seeing the site at which prisoners were murdered and cremated was totally insane. From there going to see the old medical facilities which still had dried blood in the basement was the worst. However this second time around I noticed that it did not seem as impactful but rather I learned more about the entire camp. This could've been because I already knew what was to come. Either way with both trips to Sachsenhausen I have had interesting experiences that I could never forget. This camp acts as a wonderful memorial to the holocaust. By opening up this to the public and allowing people to see what actually happened here is an extremely impactful opportunity. It services as a good reminder of the unfortunate events that occurred and a wonderful memorial to all those that suffered.
When you first get there, you get to sit in front of the gates, and the whole time you are breathing and trying to calm down before you walk into to the place where all the prisoners used to stay. When you walk through the gates, all you feel overwhelming sadness and just pain. It doesn’t feel like you are outside—it just feels like you are trapped in a bubble of hate, pain, and overall negativity. It feels like you can’t breathe or move. As you walk more of the ground, you feel heavier. We walked into where they killed people, and when you walked in there you could hear them scream and you could feel the pain. I would say that this site measured up as a memorial to the Holocaust. I liked how they didn’t build anything over the top of it, just left it exposed. It is a place where you know that people suffered and where no one will suffer again.
--Aurora
Although the memorial was an emotional place, it definitely
was more impactful for some than others.
I personally didn’t have much of an emotional response, and I think that
is because of the way we experienced it.
Because we were stuck in a large group for the entirety of the tour, I
believe it took away the overall impact for me.
The our guide was overly focused on numbers and facts, which limited any
emotional response I could have possibly had.
--Mia
DDR Museum:
I found a lot of things out at the museum that I didn't know about. The biggest thing I learned is the way of life for many people who lived on the east side of Berlin. Though they were living under a horrible, oppressive government, there was still a sense of structure and order in people's lives. I had imagined that life was a very chaotic fight for survival, and everyone had trouble having basic necessities. However, it seems that this was not the case. There was still an oder to live to people in East Berlin and Germany. They could still buy food and clothing and a few basic luxuries. The problem was that wages were too low to be able to afford them. Although life was much more difficult economically, it was still livable and there was still s sort of social structure.
--Galen
The most surprising part about the time period was that the Cold War started directly after WWII. When I learned about the Cold War in the 8th grade, I always envisioned it as such as horrible and stressful thing. At the museum, the exhibits only focused on the daily lives of the people living behind the wall. It was nice to learn, but it left out information about how the Cold War started. Overall, however, it was amazing and I would suggest people go there if they go to Berlin.
--Kelsey
 |
| Noah crashes the simulator with Madison as a passenger. |
 |
| NELA paints the simulated wall. |
The DDR Museum surprised me by showing how people of the
time lived and acted. This museum showed
us, by being interactive, how the Cord War affected both West and East Germany,
how they acted towards each other. The
museum was awesome! I drove an virtual
car, watched old shows, and listened to music…I very much loved the interaction
and learned.
--Antonio
Well, I just want to say that I love interactive
museums. I am being serious. They’re the best. I love to touch things and
pull out drawers and be up close to the exhibits. It is also a great way to learn about the
time period. I knew nothing about it so I am
glad that I got to have that experience without a guide. My only wish it that I could have stayed
longer.
--Josh
No comments:
Post a Comment