Eleven: Berlin

Berlin!

We awoke on Saturday to see the sun just rising- which means 5:00 here in Hamburg. Our bus left from FEG at 6:15, so we packed and drove to school. Everybody got on the bus and sat next to their partner. Our driver's name was Klaus- some pictures and more information later. We started on our way, expecting a three hour trip. There was much sleeping the first half, which was miserably uncomfortable. Why don't they think of tall people?

We stopped at a autobahn rest area for a bathroom and drinks. This is where we saw the 1 liter beer can. CAN. After our stop, we continued on our way and got to Berlin around 10:15, or after four hours. I don't know if the Germans are just optimistic about time estimates or what, but so far nothing has been correct.

After almost causing a 20 car accident, Klaus managed to park us in front of the "City Lights Hotel". It wasn't the prettiest view from the hotel. I roomed with Max, Ryan and Henning. We also had a TV in the room, but the desk lady told us we had to pay €5 to use it.

Our stop in the hotel was only ten minutes long, so we all got back on the bus and headed for the Reichstag. The Americans had a more in-depth tour than the Germans. This was really cool- the building is the same as the one burned in 1933 and the one in that picture of the soviets putting up the flag in Berlin. There is still some Soviet writing on the walls. It was covered up by renovation and only recently re-discovered.

I have some great pictures, so I really need to take the time to upload them. We ended up in the parliament chamber where we talked about the German government (quite interesting, and quite different from America). Then, we ascended to the glass dome. It's a dome like the one on the congress building, except made completely of glass. You can walk to the top on the inside, so we went up and looked out over the city. It was really cool.

Then, we climbed down and walked to Central Station for lunch. This train station is brand new and also made completely of glass. We lunched at a Pizza Hut before going to the Chancellery (Bundeskanzleramt). It was like visiting the White House- complete security and everything. Our tour guide wasn't great, but the building was really cool. The art was the best- quite modern. Oh, they were using Schopes mics for their podiums (which is why we should buy one for Keating) and had a Soundcraft console in thier large conference room.

After the Bundeskanzleramt we walked under the Brandenburg gate and then split up into small groups for free time. I ended up with Max, Angie, Mia, Nick K, and Anna. We went to starbucks, then Dunkin Donuts (where I burned my tounge on a hot choclate and managed to order the wrong kind of donut- which was intersting, because the menu was in Englisch). After that, we tried to take the S-Bahn to the Alexanderplatz, where the big TV tower is. However, the S-Bahn was not in service (?) so we took the bus. We went through a shopping mall, bought some stuff , and then took the U-Bahn to a resturant near our hotel. I literally had the best burger ever. It was REDICLIOUS. I need to post the picture.

We got back to the hotel around midnight and went to bed. Definatly an intersting day.

Robert