WARNING: This post may or may not contain pictures at the time that I post this. This is because the internet is VERY temperamental here. I will either edit this post later in the week or just make a folder on Facebook of all of the pictures. Probably the latter.
Also, this post is a culmination of a few days. It is quite long and has been written over the course of today (Friday the 6th). SO here we go!
I made it! I am officially in Berlin! I'll start from the beginning.
TUESDAY
My mom and I left Virginia at 6am to make it to Raleigh in time for my first flight to NYC. Everything went smoothly up to JFK but once I boarded the next flight, that's when the ice started. We sat in the plane for 2 hours waiting for them to de-ice. They spent like 30 minutes spraying on some sort of green liquid on the wings. I don't know what it was, but we didn't leave the ground until about 6:30pm.
Also, this post is a culmination of a few days. It is quite long and has been written over the course of today (Friday the 6th). SO here we go!
I made it! I am officially in Berlin! I'll start from the beginning.
TUESDAY
My mom and I left Virginia at 6am to make it to Raleigh in time for my first flight to NYC. Everything went smoothly up to JFK but once I boarded the next flight, that's when the ice started. We sat in the plane for 2 hours waiting for them to de-ice. They spent like 30 minutes spraying on some sort of green liquid on the wings. I don't know what it was, but we didn't leave the ground until about 6:30pm.
For those of you who haven't been on a long flight before, I'm going to explain it. It is uncomfortable and messes with your perception of time. They turn the lights on and off to emulate night and day, but it really just makes it worse. We got on the plane and an hour later they turned the lights off even though it was still light outside. They brought around dinner and then I decided to try and sleep. I tried everything. I tried leaning back, but the lady behind me insisted that my seat be up the whole time. I tried leaning against the window. Nope. So finally I gave up, put my head on the tray table, and slept for about 2 hours.
I wake up and breakfast is next to me. The lights are on, but it's still dark outside. Unlike dinner, breakfast was wonderful. We got blueberry muffins, fruit cups, and a granola bar. I will never protest a muffin. We landed what seemed like 90 hours later in Frankfurt, but the entire flight was a little over 6 hours.
WEDNESDAY
It's around 7am at this point. Because of the delays, Danielle and I missed our connecting flights. (Danielle is the girl who sat next to me who also happens to be on the study abroad trip). They threw us on a 7:45 plane and off we were to Berlin. Little did we know, they didn't throw our luggage on with us. So we land in Berlin and go to lost and found and they tell us that they'll deliver our luggage to the hostel. Problem solved, but still another annoying step we had to take.
Once we arrived at the airport, everyone was supposed to go to the meeting point. Danielle and I go there and there's only one other person. Two more show up about an hour later, but that was it for the longest time. Everyone was delayed by the ice. One girl actually wasn't able to come until Thursday.
The bus to take us to the hostel leaves at 11. We go to get on the bus and about 4 more show up. So, all 9 of us pile into the Mercedes Benz bus and head to the hostel to drop off luggage. We waited a little while for some more people to show up before we took the neighborhood tour and by then we were up to 19. Now the fun part. EXPLORATION.
So, we start by just standing outside the hostel to look at the transportation. There's an above-ground train (the U-Bahn), a tram system (the S-Bahn), a subway system, buses, and taxis.
Fun Fact: All of the taxis are either a cream colored Benz or Toyota Prius. There's a few random ones, but the majority are Benz sedans. I have a picture of one. I swear it's real.
A block away from our hostel is a synagogue. It was burned on the inside during WWII and is essentially an empty shell. They have been restoring the outside, but mostly just to memorialize. Plus, it's very pretty in the midst of grey skies and neutral colored buildings. Also in the skyline is the Berlin TV Tower. It was built by East Germany during the war to mess with the West's TV and radio signals. It has become a big symbol for Berlin, sort of like their personal Statue of Liberty. The rest of the tour was really just to show us where the grocery store was and where to get medicine and such.
We ate lunch in the hostel before this tour. Very typical German lunch of cold cuts, cheeses, breads, and antipasto. After the tour we got settled in our dorms, some took naps, and before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We went to dinner at Prater Garten, the oldest beer house in Berlin. I had the duck (of course). It rained, then it snowed, then we left. Once we got back, everyone gave out and went to sleep. The jet lag hit hard. END DAY ONE.
THURSDAY
Today we had orientation for the school portion. The school house is about 15 minutes from the hostel via tram. It's really small. Only a few little rooms barely big enough to call classrooms and a small lounge area on the main level. Basically, they just told us the do's and don'ts of the city. Most of it was common sense sort of stuff, but they kinda have to say it anyway. After the 3 hour lecture, we were set off to do things on our own. We headed to Alexanderplatz, a large square of sorts with little shops and restaurants. It reminded me a little of an outdoor mall. A large group of us went to eat lunch at Vapiano's (a very good pasta place) and I went to buy a German phone. We got back to the hostel around 5 just talked in my room for a couple hours. During this talking time I fell asleep. It was around 7:30 or 8 and I didn't wake up until this morning at around 7. I think my body was just trying to catch up with everything.
FRIDAY
It is now Friday. I woke up this morning around 10 and got ready. We had to be in the lobby at 1:15 for the city tour. I went to a little café down the street and ate lunch. I had chicken and au gratin potatoes. It was wonderful.
The city tour was a big highlight of today. We went to the Brandenburg Gate to meet the tour guide, who informed us of all kinds of German history. We saw part of the Berlin Wall, the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe, Checkpoint Charlie, where Hitler's bunker was, and the last standing Nazi building. It was very informative and was a very nice introduction to the city. We're going to be visiting all of these places individually later in the trip, so I'll go more into detail then.
After the tour a few friends and I went to dinner at a Chinese place that was suggested to us by a girl who came here last year. It ended up being very far away and was surely an adventure. We took a tram, the subway, and had to walk at least 15 minutes to get to it, but it was all fun and the food was GREAT. We made our way to the grocery store to buy some waters and finally made it back to the dorm. At this point I would like to say congratulations. You have made it through my immensely long explanation of the past few days. Of course there is more, but my brain can't comprehend everything quite yet. I'll get to it I promise, but for now I am going to sit in bed and possibly (probably) go to sleep. Trisha signing off.
I wake up and breakfast is next to me. The lights are on, but it's still dark outside. Unlike dinner, breakfast was wonderful. We got blueberry muffins, fruit cups, and a granola bar. I will never protest a muffin. We landed what seemed like 90 hours later in Frankfurt, but the entire flight was a little over 6 hours.
WEDNESDAY
It's around 7am at this point. Because of the delays, Danielle and I missed our connecting flights. (Danielle is the girl who sat next to me who also happens to be on the study abroad trip). They threw us on a 7:45 plane and off we were to Berlin. Little did we know, they didn't throw our luggage on with us. So we land in Berlin and go to lost and found and they tell us that they'll deliver our luggage to the hostel. Problem solved, but still another annoying step we had to take.
Once we arrived at the airport, everyone was supposed to go to the meeting point. Danielle and I go there and there's only one other person. Two more show up about an hour later, but that was it for the longest time. Everyone was delayed by the ice. One girl actually wasn't able to come until Thursday.
The bus to take us to the hostel leaves at 11. We go to get on the bus and about 4 more show up. So, all 9 of us pile into the Mercedes Benz bus and head to the hostel to drop off luggage. We waited a little while for some more people to show up before we took the neighborhood tour and by then we were up to 19. Now the fun part. EXPLORATION.
So, we start by just standing outside the hostel to look at the transportation. There's an above-ground train (the U-Bahn), a tram system (the S-Bahn), a subway system, buses, and taxis.
Fun Fact: All of the taxis are either a cream colored Benz or Toyota Prius. There's a few random ones, but the majority are Benz sedans. I have a picture of one. I swear it's real.
A block away from our hostel is a synagogue. It was burned on the inside during WWII and is essentially an empty shell. They have been restoring the outside, but mostly just to memorialize. Plus, it's very pretty in the midst of grey skies and neutral colored buildings. Also in the skyline is the Berlin TV Tower. It was built by East Germany during the war to mess with the West's TV and radio signals. It has become a big symbol for Berlin, sort of like their personal Statue of Liberty. The rest of the tour was really just to show us where the grocery store was and where to get medicine and such.
We ate lunch in the hostel before this tour. Very typical German lunch of cold cuts, cheeses, breads, and antipasto. After the tour we got settled in our dorms, some took naps, and before we knew it, it was time for dinner. We went to dinner at Prater Garten, the oldest beer house in Berlin. I had the duck (of course). It rained, then it snowed, then we left. Once we got back, everyone gave out and went to sleep. The jet lag hit hard. END DAY ONE.
THURSDAY
Today we had orientation for the school portion. The school house is about 15 minutes from the hostel via tram. It's really small. Only a few little rooms barely big enough to call classrooms and a small lounge area on the main level. Basically, they just told us the do's and don'ts of the city. Most of it was common sense sort of stuff, but they kinda have to say it anyway. After the 3 hour lecture, we were set off to do things on our own. We headed to Alexanderplatz, a large square of sorts with little shops and restaurants. It reminded me a little of an outdoor mall. A large group of us went to eat lunch at Vapiano's (a very good pasta place) and I went to buy a German phone. We got back to the hostel around 5 just talked in my room for a couple hours. During this talking time I fell asleep. It was around 7:30 or 8 and I didn't wake up until this morning at around 7. I think my body was just trying to catch up with everything.
FRIDAY
It is now Friday. I woke up this morning around 10 and got ready. We had to be in the lobby at 1:15 for the city tour. I went to a little café down the street and ate lunch. I had chicken and au gratin potatoes. It was wonderful.
The city tour was a big highlight of today. We went to the Brandenburg Gate to meet the tour guide, who informed us of all kinds of German history. We saw part of the Berlin Wall, the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe, Checkpoint Charlie, where Hitler's bunker was, and the last standing Nazi building. It was very informative and was a very nice introduction to the city. We're going to be visiting all of these places individually later in the trip, so I'll go more into detail then.
After the tour a few friends and I went to dinner at a Chinese place that was suggested to us by a girl who came here last year. It ended up being very far away and was surely an adventure. We took a tram, the subway, and had to walk at least 15 minutes to get to it, but it was all fun and the food was GREAT. We made our way to the grocery store to buy some waters and finally made it back to the dorm. At this point I would like to say congratulations. You have made it through my immensely long explanation of the past few days. Of course there is more, but my brain can't comprehend everything quite yet. I'll get to it I promise, but for now I am going to sit in bed and possibly (probably) go to sleep. Trisha signing off.