Berlin: The Last Full Day

Well, today is my last complete day in Berlin for some time. This city is simply amazing, and I know I keep saying this, but everyone needs to visit here at least once in their lifetime.

Today we went to a museum at Checkpoint Charlie. They displayed several ways people escaped from the East Berlin to West Berlin and the DDR into the BRD. Someone hid in a suitcase. Another hid in a stereo cabinent. People hid in trunks of cars. One car was even short enough to drive under a barricade. People used hot air balloons. Another person hid in the seat of a car. Powerful stuff.

Then we went through the museum of German film. That was actually quite interesting. But at that point, I was over guided tours, so I just kind of went through on my own. I saw the costume Marlene Dietrich wore for her cameo in Paris When it Sizzles with Audrey Hepburn. That was sweet.

Kate and Erin have to leave tonight in order to catch the EuroStar out of Paris tomorrow because there is no train to Paris tomorrow morning. I think it will be a little easier than leaving Mayen was, simply because I know that I will see Kate and Erin again soon, but I will have to wait a long time to see Christina. :( I am going to the train station with Kate and Erin tonight because I have to see them off. This really is the beginning of the end of the six amazing weeks we spent in Germany. They are the first to leave. I don't think that the end will hit home for me until tonight. I am trying not to dwell on it and let it ruin the rest of my night, but I only have five-ish hours left with Kate and Erin - two people with whom I have grown incredibly close to in these six weeks. I keep telling myself that it's not good bye, it's just aufwiedersehen, and it is. But I think that their departure really symbolizes the end of the trip for me. In less than 24 hours, I will be on a train to Darmstadt, and the Mayen program will be officially over in fifteen.

We used to count down the days until we came to Germany, and now our time in Germany is almost over. This trip has meant so much to me, and the friendships I made will last a lifetime, and even though physical distance may (and probably will) come between us, nothing can break the bond that we made on this trip.

I guess this will probably be one of, if not my last, posts for this trip. It has been amazing. And I have changed in so many positive ways. I have finally accepted that I am going home, and I won't fight it. I am sad to leave, but there are people I want to see back home, and I didn't really realize it until I talked to Emily last night.

It's been real, Deutschland. Vielen Dank fuer alles. Bis spaeter! Ich werde dich vermissen.

Berlin Teil 3! Zweimal in einen Tag!

Well, I couldn't help but updating again because there is some very exciting news in Berlin right now... Germany is in the EM finals! I watched the game from our hostel, but after the game I went out with John, Erin, Jacqui, Matt, and Eric to see the madness at the Brandenburger Tor. They had a giant Leinwand (projection screen) there, and soooo many people were there to watch the game. During the day, the Tor is, admittedly, underwhelming, but at night, it is AMAZING! How amazing you ask? SO amazing.

I love this city, and I love this country. It is just overwhelmingly amazing, and you just have to come to experience it. You learn about all this stuff in your German classes, but you can't really understand it until you see it. I never understood the Berlin Wall until I saw it. I understood that it split one city into, basically, two countries, but I never GOT it until I saw it - until I touched it. It turned something abstract into something real. And that's what this entire trip has done, and I love it. I love how much more of German culture I understand. It is real now.

And today, while we were on our city tour, we saw Condoleeza Rice. We were going out to see the Brandenburger Tor, but the police told us we had to wait because she was coming, and we thought it would be a motorcade, but she walked by, and I have a picture. I may not respect her policies, but I respect her intelligence, and it was still cool to see the U.S. Secretary of State like three feet away. She waved, it was awesome.

Okay. I'm off to do more stuff on the internets. I love that I can use my own computer now that I'm in Berlin.

Bis Morgen.

Berlin! Teil 2!

Today is my second day in Berlin, and I still love it.

We saw the East Side Gallery/The Berlin Wall today, and it was so amazing. I have plenty of pictures of me by The Berlin Wall. It was a very moving experience. To see something I have read about and learned about for three years is amazing, and I finally understand it now. I felt so many emotions when I saw the Wall. I stepped off the bus and started crying because it was just that emotional for me.

You can still see the effects of a divided Germany/Berlin here. It is one city now, but the East is different than the West, and you can see the struggle involved in half a city adapting to capitalism for the first time in 20 years. It is one city, but it still looks like two different countries. I also took pictures as our bus was driving through Checkpoint Charlie with no stops.

In a few, I am going to Alexander Platz and then back to Unter den Linden for some shopping.

Everyone needs to visit Berlin.

Only two more days left. :( But I get to see my cousin who I haven't seen in at least five years.

BERLIN! Part 1

Well, we made it to Berlin today. We didn't forget/lose anyone, and there weren't six train connections. I am so happy to be here, and Berlin is my favorite city in the world, with New York a close second.

Today I saw the Brandenburger Tor, Unter Den Linden (google it), Checkpoint Charlie, part of the Berlin Wall, The Reichstag, usw. We took a boat tour on the Spree, and it was a nice relaxing way to see the city when we first got here.

We got here around 1pm, Germany time, and then I had lunch in a nice sushi restaurant with John, Melissa, and Jacqui. It was so crazy to finally see all the stuff I've been learning about for three years in person. I love this country.

Today I bought Breakfast at Tiffany's (the book) auf Deutsch and Beim Haeuten der Zwiebel by Guenther Grass. I am still looking for Mein Jahrhundert with the watercolors. And I bought a piece of the Berlin Wall.

Tomorrow we have a bus tour of the city and a museum tour (I think) at Checkpoint Charlie.

It seems so strange that I am already in Berlin. It seems like only yesterday I was suffering from extreme jet lag while trying to speak German and arriving in Mayen. Where the heck did all this time go?

I know I started out saying that I never want to go home, but now I realize that I need to go home. I have to go home in order to come back to Germany. I have to go home to graduate; I have to go home to do my student teaching; and I have to go home to get a job as a German teacher, which will allow me to bring students back here. I will have the opportunity to share with my future students what I feel for Germany and German language and culture. This trip confirmed a lot of things that I already knew, and one of those things was how much I need to be a German teacher. I love this place. I have finally found my major. I have finally found my calling in life. And I can't wait to share my passion for this country, language, and culture with my future students.

I am going to go out and explore a little more of Berlin tonight with my friends. I just can't believe, dass die Zeit fast vorbei ist.

Jena/Dresden

So today we are in Dresden. We left Jena yesterday about 10am, Germany time.

What I find most interesting about being in Eastern Germany is that there is an obvious difference, and the remnants of the former DDR are still present, especially in Dresden. There are beautiful, Baroque churches and opera houses next to newer Soviet-style apartment buildings, usw.

Rhineland-Pflaz (the bundesland where Mayen is) is so much like the midwest that it is easy to feel comfortable there, but coming to Eastern Germany really is like going to another country.

I am warming up to this side of the country, and I am glad that I am able to see the differences I learned about first-hand, but it is really quite un-nerving at times. My cultural knowledge of Germany has grown so much in the past five and a half weeks (Has it really been that long??), and I now feel a little more confident about teaching German in high school. I would feel irresponsible teaching German if I had never come to Germany.

This country makes me incredibly happy, and I am not ready to leave, but I am starting to miss things about home. For example, I really miss chocolate chip cookies and Taco Bell. I miss my cats a little, too. I miss playing cards with my cousins, and I am looking forward to going to Ludington and South Haven with Emily shortly after I get back.

But there is, and will always be, something special about my first trip to Germany.

Some famous author said that you can't go home again, and I believe that is true for this situation. Mayen will always be there, hanging out in der Eifel, but the Mayen that I experienced will never be there again because I have changed, and I will never be in Mayen with these crazy 21 people again. I know that I will go back to Mayen, and I can't wait to take my high school classes there. I am also planning on going back next summer to visit Christina and Frau Göbel. I also think I'll go to Salzburg on the next trip.

I feel so out of touch with life in the US, but I am not really sure I care all that much.

I can't wait to get to Berlin.

I wasn't ready...

We left Mayen yesterday at 7:30am, Germany time, and it was the second saddest day of my life. That city means so much to me, and the friendships that I made there will last a lifetime. When the train left Mayen West Bahnhof (train station), and Christina was standing on the platform watching us leave, I just lost it. I cried so hard. I knew it would be difficult to leave, but I wasnt prepared for just how difficult it would be.

We are staying in Jena until Sunday. Right now I am in Weimar, and this morning we visited Buchenwald. That was a very powerful experience, and it was an important thing to do, but I have really mixed feelings about the situation. It will take me some time to process the visit and all that I felt while I was there.

We leave on Sunday for Dresden.

And I do have to say hello to Christina because I miss you. Also. Hi to Frau's class back in Grand Blanc. And everyone at TIC. And basically everyone reading this.

München Teil 2

I was back in Munich this weekend. It was okay. All I really did was go back to Hofbrauhaus, saw the glockenspiel again, and bought some scarves. I was there for a total of about seven hours. My friend Erin and I took the night train back. Kate stayed the night with the other people we went with. I wasnt into spending more money to stay in a city that I had already been to. However, I wouldve loved to go on the walking tour. Oh well. Next time.

It is already our last week in Mayen, and I am trying not to think about it too much. This week we are going for a wine tasting in Monreal, a little city that is near Mayen. It is actually where my host Oma is from. She and her good friend are coming with the group. I cant wait.

Thursday we are going to see My Fair Lady auf Deutsch, which should be interesting. I think they speak in German and sing in English.

My independent study is almost done. I was in the Gymnasium last week on Thursday. That was quite an interesting experience. I actually prefer American classrooms to German classrooms. However, I would like to teach here someday.

I dont have any idea how I am going to be able to leave on Friday. We are travelling around for the last week, so that should be fun. On the 27th, I am going to my cousin's house in Darmstadt for the last three days I am here. That should be fun. She is even going to drive me to the airport. I got lucky with that one. I am glad to know what I am doing with my life after the trip is over. I wont just be floating around Europe somewhere like a vagabond with two huge suitcases.

Today is our last laundry day, too. My whites have been whiter since being in Germany. Everything is better here. I dont want it to end, but lets be honest - I have been on a six-week vacation.

Where did the time go?

Die Zeit geht so schnell.

The time goes so quickly.

There are 19 days left until I return to the US. That means that there are 16 days left of my program, and 9 days left in Mayen. I am preparing myself for the tremendous sadness that will accompany my return, but in the meantime, I have so much to talk about.

Saturday, I went to Trier, the oldest city in Germany. I saw a lot of Roman ruins and the Karl Marx House. I wouldnt recommend the Marx House Museum unless youre really, really into Communism.

Yesterday we were in Bonn and Cologne. We were only in Bonn for two hours, unfortunately. There is a really great German History Museum, Hause der Geschichte. It is German history from 1945 to present time. There are pieces of the Berlin Wall, a VW Bug, a Sandmaennchen Doll, and so many other things. I wish that we had more time there. It was like my entire spring semester in one building. It was so amazing to finally see all of that in real life. I saw the note cards that JFK used for his speech in Berlin, and they were in his handwriting and phonetically spelled.

Cologne was epic. We saw the Cologne Cathedral and heard an organ concert there that night. I went up into one of the spires in the cathedral looked out over the whole city. It was a horrible climb, but it was so worth it in the end. I have a lot of pictures, but they dont really do it justice, unfortunately.

It was nice to spend the day with Christina Frau Göbels granddaughter. She is 21, and she is so nice. I want to bring her home with me... But I think she is going to try and visit me and my roommates during our spring break in March. I am keeipng my fingers crossed.

I dont really know what we are doing for my last weekend in Mayen. I cant believe how quickly the time has gone.

Comments, questions??

Koblenz

Today we spent the day in Koblenz, and it was simply amazing. The Rhine and the Mosel rivers come together in Koblenz, and they call it die deutsche Eck (The German Square). There is a giant statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I. It was destroyed during WWII, but they rebuilt it in 1993. It is epic. You can go up in it and look out over the eck.

We walked around Koblenz for a while. Kate, Erin, and I sat in a park and ate the lunches that we brought. Then we met the rest of our group for a Rhine boat tour. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced in my whole life. That river is epic. There are castles and mountains and little cities. The Mississippi River may be bigger, but nothing can match how awesome the Rhine is. I love it. The tour was amazing, and I never wanted it to end. I have so many pictures of the tour and of die deutsche Eck. I wish that I could post them, but the internet is far too slow. But dont worry, youll get to see them all when I come back, and you will probably get tired of seeing them because I will show them to you all every time I get the chance.