Day 28

Day 26 May 28, 2012

Not much to report about today. I woke up around noon and ate lunch. I made a pizza and Kristin had cereal. I burned my pizza a little but it was still good. Then after lunch I decided to start packing and Kristin did laundry for the last time before she heads to Poland. I am almost completely packed except for the clothes that I am going to wear for the next few days and my shower stuff. I forgot how much stuff I had packed and how much I bought! Hopefully my suitcase isn’t over weight because I have no room to move stuff around. Around 3ish we headed to Alexanderplatz to get internet so some people could turn in their last assignments that were technically due on Friday. Ryne came down around 5 and asked if I wanted to go to dinner with him tonight at our little café that we go to all the time.  I told him I didn’t want to go because I have a lot of food still in the apartment that I have to eat before I leave and because I didn’t think it would be open because of the holiday today. I don’t remember which holiday McInnis said it was but Germans close everything on Sundays and holidays. Plus I am getting a little low on money and I don’t want to have to pull more out before I leave on Thursday and I already told Kristin I would go out with her tomorrow for broccoli cheese pizza because tomorrow is her last night. Tonight I might be going out for a drink or two but I am trying to get my stuff together and get ready for home. Tomorrow I want to see one of the two aquariums in Berlin but I don’t know if I will. I think the rest of the group is here until at least Wednesday so I want to make sure I see everyone and spend time with them because I don’t know how much I will see them when we all get back to the states and our lives begin again. 

Side Note

Sorry my posts have been choppy without a ton of detail. If you want more information or if something isn't clear comment on a post and I will try to give more detail. I got out of the habit of blogging every night and when I do blog I seem to have little time.

May 27- First day off and re-visiting the zoo :)

Day 25 May 27, 2012

Today I was able to sleep in! That was amazing. I woke up at 10:45 when Abbey knocked on our door to see if we were still going to the zoo today. Of course I wanted to go to the zoo again so Kristin and I got out of bed, ate our Chocos and got ready for going out. The plan was to be out the door by 11:15 or 11:30 so we had plenty of time to spend there so we wouldn’t miss out on anything. Well one thing led to another and we didn’t end up leaving until 12:00, because Kristin decided to ask Colin and he said sure and then we had to wait for Karl to get out of the shower so Colin could brush his teeth then we figured we should ask them too and he wanted to go so him and Emily had to get ready. Then we got on the train and had to pick up Ryne at Starbucks, and stop at an ATM so I could get money so by the time we got there and in the Zoo it was almost 1, but that still gave us 5 hours to wander before the animals got put away for the night. I love zoos so I was really excited to be able to go back and see what I didn’t before. We went the opposite way we did with McInnis to make sure we didn’t miss anything. I though it was cool to see cows in the zoo. After the zoo I broke down and went to McDonalds for the first time this trip and probably the first time in 3 or 4 months back home. It was ok, but still McDonalds.

We bummed around for a while after the zoo until about 8 then Colin Kristin Karl Emily and I went out for Indian food and drinks. It was really good but my food was a bit spicier then I was expecting. We had a few drinks at Molotow Cocktail and I stole their menu so I could make the drinks at home :p

We got back around 11 and we realized Ryne had been missing for over 4 hours and no one knew where he was so we went looking for him. We didn’t find him but when we got back he was in bed and sleeping so we must have just missed him. Shortly after I took a shower and went to bed.

May 25 and 26- Last Days of Class!!!

Days 23-24 May 25-26

Friday was our last day of class. We met as usual at 9am and discussed our final papers about art, media or architecture. Class lasted about an hour and a half and he didn’t give us any free time before we headed out on our excursions for the day. We headed over to the West to visit the Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedӓchnis Kirche. The Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedӓchnis Kirche is a memorial of a church that was bombed in WWII and was basically left in ruins to show the destruction. It was covered in scaffolding which sucked because we couldn’t see anything because they are working on it to preserve it. We were able to do inside and into the new church that was build next to it but it wasn’t the same because from train station it looks like a modern office building. After the church we walked down Kurfürstendamm, a high end street in Berlin. This is where all the rich people shop. Now it’s a big tourist attraction too but shops are expensive and while walking Ku’damm we stopped at a LEGO store and reminisced about our childhoods and played with LEGOs. I got my picture taken with Woody from Toy Story and kind of considered buying a Harry Potter Hogwarts castle…but I didn’t. After the LEGO store we walked down a bit further and went into Kaufhaus des Westens or KaDeWe. The KaDeWe is a super high end department store. It’s famous for being a huge attraction in the West and things are crazy expensive. I was looking around with Ryne and he wanted to buy underwear but they were upwards of 30€ or about $40 a pair. It was insane we found men’s jackets for 5000€ and watches and accessories for more. There was a pet section were we found dog collars and bowls for around 125€ and stuffed animals for kids on sale for 49.95€. It was crazy. I walked out with nothing which is perfectly ok with me because I don’t have that kind of money and even if I did I wouldn’t want to pay $60 for a toy kids drool all over. Anyway after KaDeWe we went back to the apartments because we had time before McInnis picked us up for dinner and before we went to the top of the Fernsehturm. McInnis took us to a fancy restaurant for dinner, it was called WeinGrün. It was super delicious and really expensive but he (well technically UNI) paid for everything except for our drinks. I had vegetable gnocchi and fried mushrooms and for dessert chocolate lava cake served with vanilla ice cream and a cappuccino. It was so good. Our bill was over 360€ which is almost $500 but it was so good. We sat at our table next to the river for a while just talking and joking around, enjoying our last night together with everyone as a group because Travis was leaving first thing in the morning. Then the sun went down and it got cold, the restaurant gave us blankets and we talked some more. Finally at a little after 10 or so we decided to pay out bill and head over to the Fernsehturm. The city is so beautiful at night, we decided not to get on the train and just walk to the tower, it took less than ten minutes from the restaurant. When we got to the tower McInnis bought our tickets and we headed to the top. We took an elevator to 203meters which is about 666 feet or were the giant disco ball sits. We walked around and got to take some cool pictures of the city at night. It was beautiful, and so different from an American city at night. There were almost no cars on the roads and you could see forever but it wasn’t overly lit up. It would also be cool so see Berlin from the tower during the day but I don’t want to spend 12€ to go to the top again. After the Fernsehturm Ryne and I used the internet for a while before heading to bed because we had to meet with McInnis in the morning for one more day of sightseeing.

We were up at 9 on Saturday to say “Goodbye” to Travis because he was heading back to central Germany to spend more time with Denise in her home village. Kristin and I went back to bed after he left and slept until almost 11. We ate breakfast and got dressed and waited for McInnis to pick us up at 11:30. We were going a ways away to visit the Babelsberg Filmpark. Babelsberg is the German equivalent to Universal Studios, kind of. At least that’s what I have been told, I’ve never been to Universal Studios. The train ride was pretty long because we headed to the far south west corner of the Berlin area. It took about 40 minutes then we took a bus for about 10 minutes give or take. The film park was one of the most expensive places we have visited at a whopping 17€. The first thing we did when we got there was go to the stunt show at 2:30. It was really cool. Then we walked around the park for a while and rode a little kid’s boat ride. We got our picture taken with King Kong and ventured to a medieval city and to the Old West. The Old West was poorly done and names of places on buildings were accurate but that might just be because its German and they forgot that English doesn’t squish words and things together, it was still cool though. We didn’t stay too long because it wasn’t that big of a place and we wanted to get back.

When we got back we went to the grocery store and returned bottles and got groceries to get us through the rest of the week. Then when we got back me and Kristin made dinner and hung out. Ryne came over later and we had a heart to heart because he was really missing home and just needed to get some things off his mind. Then I helped him do his laundry in the tub before we headed to Alexanderplaz to get internet. I was showered and in bed before 2:00. It’s nice to know I am done with everything excited hanging out and doing what I want to do and seeing what I want to see. I have a feeling the next few days will go really fast. 

May 23-24: My Birthday! and Knoedel!!

Day 22 May 24, 2012

Yesterday was my birthday J and I didn’t blog. We had class at 9am and I didn’t wake up to my alarm so Travis woke me and Kristin up at 8:55, Kristin ended up not going to class because she was sick and spent most of the night throwing up and just generally not feeling so well. In class we discussed a short story McInnis had us read. It was actually a decent story and I didn’t mind talking about it. Discussing took a while and after discussion we were allowed to do whatever we wanted until 6:50 when McInnis was going to pick us up to go to a poetry slam. I didn’t go out on the town because I wanted to make sure someone was taking care of Kristin and that she would feel better. I did some laundry and went on a dinner date with Ryne to our secret spot. We made it back just in time to meet McInnis. The poetry slam was pretty far away and little did we know at the time but it was in Berlin’s gay district at a gay bar. It was funny and the poetry was good from what I could understand. One person presented in English and he was really funny, some of the German speakers spoke way to fast and didn’t annunciate very well. We left after the first round and headed back to the apartments because it was getting late and I wanted to go out for drinks for my birthday. When we got back Liz bailed because she was tired, broke, and getting a headache, so it was just me, Emily, Karl, Nate and Ryne who went out. We went to Molotow (?) Cocktail which we had gone to before the first weekend we were all here and then to a Mexican restaurant down the street further. It was good and cheap and made me really want to go get some Los Aztecas, so this weekend me and Collin are going to go back and get burritos.

We come back pretty early, which is fine because we had a busy day planned for today. This morning McInnis picked us up at 11 to head over to Potsdamer Platz and visit the Sony Center and the film museum inside. The Sony Center is really cool and there is a movie theater there so Ryne and I decided we are going to see Dark Shadows the new Jonny Depp movie on Saturday night. I’m excited, the movie is playing in English but I think it will be cool going to a famous German movie theater. After the Sony Center and Museum, McInnis gave us a few hours to get lunch before meeting him at his apartment for a movie. Collin and I were really craving Knödel (Kloβ) which is a giant potato dumping so we searched the city for an authentic German restaurant that served them (they are hard to find in Berlin because they are a Bavarian dish).

The movie we watched with McInnis wasn’t horrible but not great either. I believe it was called Solo Sunny but I can’t remember. After the movie we went back home and me and Ryne worked on homework for tomorrow, ate dinner, and now we are blogging. It’s still pretty early here but I am tired and an going to shower and go to bed early tonight hopefully. 

Art Galleries and Shopping :)

Day 20 May 22, 2012

Not much happened today. We didn’t have class this morning but McInnis came at 10:25 to pick us up to take us to the Neue Nationalgalarie, a modern art gallery. There were some pieces that were really interesting, other things just really confused me. McInnis wanted us to really appreciate the art so he had us sit down and draw 2 of the pieces we saw so we would slow down and pay attention a little more. It wasn’t bad, I can’t draw to save my life so it was a good thing that he didn’t grade us. After he let us go off on our own at the gallery, Ryne and I walked around and just before we were about ready to leave we ran into Travis and he told us we should go to the exhibit titled “Five Minutes of Pure Sculpture”. I’m glad we listened to him because that was by far my favorite part of the whole place. The exhibit was in a completely dark room, and there were projectors projecting shapes and lines on the floor and walls that slowly moved to form different shapes and designs. Maybe that sounds a bit lamer in writing but it was really cool to see and we just walked around and talked and watched the shapes change. I really liked it. After the sculptures we went outside and sat in the shade and waited for the rest of the group. It was really hot so sitting in the shade was nice. Then we headed back to Alexanderplatz and Ryne Kristin Travis and I went shopping and first we went to New Yorker and there I bought a pair of sunglasses (because I broke mine on the pub crawl), a scarf (because it was cute and only 1EURO) and a tank top. We lost Travis while we were in the basement so Kristin Ryne and I headed over to Alexa, the huge mall in the middle of the city. There we spent way too much money. Luckily Kristin and Ryne talked me out of buying lots of things, including 3 pairs of shoes. I bought some head phones because the lady on the plane that broke mine, a cloth bag, and we went to build a bear, where I made my first ever. I made a sheep and named her Schaf, which is German for sheep. I dressed her in dirndl, which is the female equivalent to Lederhosen. She is freaking cute! Kristin and Ryne also made one. It was lots of fun and the lady who helped us was absolutely amazing. Then we took Ryne to H&M and got him some sexy European clothes so he fit in here a bit better. It was a good day and we didn’t get back til 6:00 or so. Then we bummed around until 10:15 then we headed to a bar and had a drink, only one before we came back to the apartments. I attempted to take a shower but it was super cold and we had no hot water so I washed my feet and went to bed. 

Day 19- I have no title.

Day 19 May 21, 2012

I didn’t write again last night and honestly I don’t have a reason except that I was a bit tired and didn’t want to. It was still late when I went to bed and there wasn’t much for me to say. Yesterday was Sunday so we didn’t have our class in the morning which is always nice. Kristin and I didn’t wake up til around 1:30 and then we decided we wanted pancakes for breakfast. Always a good idea. The pancake mix was pretty simple and we only had to add milk and shake. They weren’t like pancakes in the US, they were more like crepes but still really delicious. We did have to meet McInnis in the afternoon for a tour of the Reichstag Parliament Building. It was actually really interesting and we saw a lot. We had to meet McInnis at 3:10 in front of the security checkpoint. Our tour wasn’t until 3:30 but we needed time to get through. The tour took around 90 minutes and the woman who did our tour just walked us around explaining the history of the building and what happens where. After the Reichstag we all headed back to the apartments. Ryne and I went down to the bakery for a while until the server crashed, then we decided to go on a little date and we walked a few blocks to this little café restaurant. We each had a few beers and we played cards and talked. It was nice to have some down time and just relax. Our waitress was really nice and we both were able to practice our German a little, because I’m pretty sure she didn’t speak English. We got back round 11, then I showered and Phil called and I talked to him for about 45 minutes before crawling into bed and going to sleep.

Today we had class as usual at 9. I woke up around 8:35 which is pretty early for me and ate breakfast then got dressed and headed to class. I forgot to mention in earlier posts but the cereal Kristin and I eat every morning is absolutely delicious! It’s made by Kelloggs but we don’t have it in the States. Its called Chocos. I am thinking about bringing some home to eat there and then writing to the company saying to sell them in the US they are that good. Anyway, class was pretty boring. We talked about architecture which no one in the class except for McInnis cares even remotely about. He had us read an article in class which was a huge waste of time and I would have much rather slept. After class I took a nap until 11:30 or so and then made myself a Bockwurst, which is like a giant tasty hot dog, but not the cheap ones. Shortly thereafter, McInnis was here to pick us up and we headed over to the Bauhaus Archive. McInnis made it sound super cool when he talked about it but honestly I was bored out of my mind while we were there. It’s a museum kinda, but for a movement of a style of design. I don’t really know how to explain it. But we couldn’t take pictures so I can’t even explain. It’s trying to find the balance between function simplicity. So everything was really modern and I didn’t think most of it even looked cool. I have a pamphlet that might have more information for you if you are interested.

After an hour at the Bauhaus Archive, we met with McInnis to discuss what we liked and didn’t like for about 45 minutes and then we were allowed to go do whatever we wanted. We decided to go back to the apartments and play cards and relax. Shortly after we decided we all wanted Spaghetti Eis (Spaghetti Ice Cream). I’m not sure if I already explained what this was but basically, on a plate you get a dollop of whipped cream, on top of that is vanilla ice cream that was pushed through a contraption to make it look like noodles. Then it is covered in strawberry sauce and sprinkled with white chocolate flakes. It looks like a plate of spaghetti and is absolutely wonderful. Then we played cards at the apartments again and later I made real spaghetti and chicken schnitzel for dinner. We also had a few glasses of white wine with dinner. After those few glasses of wine we decided to keep drinking since we don’t have class tomorrow and we invited people over and all had a few beers and a drink we created called orange sherbet, which is Captain Morgan and MezzoMix (a drink we don’t have in the US which is Coke mixed with orange Fanta). We sat on the balcony and talked and listened to music. It was a good night. Around 12:30 I got in the shower and now am journaling so I can get to bed early again.

We don’t have class tomorrow, but we are meeting to go to an art museum, which I am sure I am not going to like because that’s not really my thing but I am really excited about no class. I might not journal tomorrow but I will for sure Wednesday night because once again we aren’t having class but we are going to a poetry slam and that sounds pretty cool. Good night J

Day 17- Pub Crawl, long train rides, and Dresden :)

Day 17 May 19, 2012

Friday’s are never good blogging days for me it seems, I get too carried away with other things at night to remember to sit down and do it, so starting with yesterday morning. McInnis let us sleep in an hour so we had class at 10, because he didn’t think that it would take every long for us to talk about our homework assignments over our memorials but he was definitely wrong. Class lasted almost 2 hours but it wasn’t bad because it was interesting hearing each others’ opinions on things we have seen. After class we were done for the day class wise. McInnis didn’t take us out on the town and we had until 7:10 Saturday morning to do what we wanted. So after McInnis let us out a little before noon, me and Kristin made pizza for lunch and sat down and talked with Travis. Thursday was a holiday so everything was closed so we couldn’t get groceries when we needed to so we went to the store after lunch with Travis and Collin and took back 5 EUR worth of bottles. It was pretty nice. But we also spent a whopping 45EUR on groceries. After grocery shopping we decided to hit the town and do some shopping. Collin wanted to buy some Birkenstocks so first stop was Friedrich Strasse. Collin bought his shoes and so did I and I AM IN LOVE with them. After that Travis wanted to go to a bookstore called Zweithausandeins (2001) it was really cool. There was lots of stuff and some interesting books and movies. We saw some porn cartoon books. I didn’t buy anything because I don’t really need books but it was cool to see. After the bookstore we decided to go and try to find by gummy bear store. Which was a bust. The store apparently doesn’t exist but I plan on looking again later. After that we came back to the apartments to make dinner because last night was the night for our PUB CRAWL!

The pub crawl was great, despite having absolutely no direction on where we were supposed to go and what not. It was a little sketchy at first because the website just said meet at the old post office. Once the group leaders got there we headed to the first bar which was less than a block down the street. I was cool. We got a free sour apple shot when we got in and it was dim basement bar with great atmosphere. We chilled there for about an hour drinking and having a good time. We went to 4 bars and a night club called the Matrix. It was so much fun. Kristin was a bit drunk and I ended up turning into Momma Hen by the 4^th bar. I still had fun though and we met some really cool people from all over. Matrix was absolutely awesome! We got there a little before midnight and it was completely packed! It puts every American dance club to shame. The dance floor was packed, there were cages, and people dancing by the DJ in glowing robot like suits. It was similar to clubs in the Jersey Shore but way cooler and less trashy and people weren’t orange. It didn’t stay there too long but it was fun while we were there. We plan on going back sometime but the line was seriously crazy.

We left there around 1:10 and didn’t get home til almost 3 because trains don’t run often at night. When I got home I quick showered and went to bed we had an early morning Saturday. McInnis wanted us to all be up and ready at 7:10 because today was the day for Dresden. I woke up at 6:30 feeling fine, just a bit tired, ate breakfast and got ready to go to out for the day. The weather was supposed to be nice so I was super excited.

We got on our Regional Bahn towards Dresden at 7:50. The first leg of the trip lasted an hour and I was out like a light. The seats were a but uncomfortable but we made it work and I slept the whole way to the next station. Once we got there and switched trains Kristin and I went to the back and put our feet up. It was amazing. I got comfortable quickly and slept the next 2 hours to Dresden’s Hauptbahnhof. Once we got to Dresden we had about an hour of free time before we had to meet for our tour time at the art museum. I didn’t like that at all. I was not in any way shape or form interested in the paintings the guide was showing us. But I toughened up and tredged through it and after the hour tour went and got ice cream and sat in the wonderful warm German sun. We had another tour planned at the Opera House at 3. I was actually looking forward to this tour because the building was amazing and I had heard good things about it. The tour was cool and we learned a lot. Unfortunately I couldn’t take pictures so that sucks but I guess my photographic memory will have to do. After that tour got over we had just over an hour before the first train left out of Dresden to go back to Berlin and if we wanted to catch the soccer game we had to take that train. So we walked back towards the station and on the way looked at little shops and vendors. It was really cool because there as a street music festival going on and it was packed. It was really neat and  I wish I would’ve had more time to explore. The whole way back on the train me and Ryne slept using each other for pillows and comfort. When we got back we watched Munich lose to Chelsea (UK) in a very intense match. Then we people watched a bit and made fun of some really ugly Americans from the East coast. And I don’t mean ugly as in looks. They were loud and drunk and just being stupid. They are the type of people who give Americans a bad name. They left and headed to the bars, Me Collin Travis and Kristin shot the bull for a while before deciding that we are all tired and really should get some sleep. Tomorrow is Sunday and most shops are closed so we have a boring-ish day. We have to meet at 3:10 for a tour of the inside of the Parliament building which will be cool. I plan on doing some laundry and cleaning house a bit. But no promises there. I am super tired so I might just sleep all day and only get up for class. Gute Nacht.

Here are some pictures of us all being a little crazy on the pub crawl. 

Day 15- Half way to home

Day 15 May 17, 2012

I woke up at 8:55 today and  we had class as usual and we didn’t really do much. McInnis was 15 minutes late and then as a group we decided to just head out into the city and he was going to show us some things we talked about in class all week. First place we went was to the Neue Wache. It’s not really all that impressive. It’s a really pretty building but there isnt really much to it. It is made of stone and has columns in the front and in the inside there is a single statue of a mother mourning her fallen son. We talked about this memorial and the problems it rose after the unification of Germany. After the Neue Wache we walked towards the Brandenburg Gate and chilled there taking lots of pictures and enjoying the view. After that we walked towards the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe. For those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s a memorial that is made up of 2711-ish cement blocks on uneven ground and at different heights its supposed to be confusing and disorienting. It’s really cool. After spending 20 or so minutes wondering around there we headed to another Soviet Memorial that was once again over sized and a tad obnoxious. We didn’t stay there long and then we broke off for a 3 hours lunch break. Me Ryne Kristin Collin Travis and Sarah decided to stay in the city and go out for lunch. We went to Brauhaus Lemke. The same place we went to with McInnis earlier in the trip. It was really good, I got roast pork with dumplings. And I got a real Collin high five because I can do math and I figured out the bill. That was probably the highlight of my day, not gonna lie. After that we walked around some more and watched some B-boys in Alexanderplatz have their spotlight stolen by some guys in Morphsuits. It was funny, and Collin jabbered at some Bosnian chick begging for money. It was funny. After lunch we headed to the Pergamon Museum and that was impressive. There were so many huge things from all over the world. I have some amazing pictures that I witures that I will try to upload later. It has whole buildings inside it basically. After spending 2+ hours there Collin Kristin and I headed back into the city and just kinda bummed around. We took a boat tour and talked and I made Collin blush. Which was also a highlight of my day. Then we headed back to the apartments were I made dinner for me and Kristin. Then we had a few beers with Collin and Travis before doing homework, journaling and just bullshitting. Today was good. Sorry the blog is kinda boring. Im tired and Ryne is rushing me. 

Day 14- Jewish Museum and sick :(

Day 14 May 16, 2012

Today was  a bad day. I woke up 10 minutes before class just got dressed and went. I didn’t sleep during class and I actually participated which was an attempt to make up for snoring in class yesterday. After class got out at 9:50 I ate a bowl of cereal and took a nap. I woke up again at 12:00 and I felt like crap. We went to the Jewish Museum first today and it was actually really interesting and I was glad that  I went. It looks funny from the outside. The entrance was really classical and in the baroque style to the right of it there was this huge gray super modern building. It was a weird shape and was tall and shiny. The building was really disorienting. We when we first got inside we went down some stairs and the building almost had an A shape but not really. There were intersecting hallways at slants and with inclines. The first floor had an Axis of Exile, Axis of the Holocaust, and Axis of Continuity. There were few exhibits but it was a very interesting first floor. At the end of the Axis of the Holocaust they had the Holocaust tower. When you entered the tower it was tall and dark with only a little slit of natural light coming from the top. It was cold and put you in a different frame of mind. At the end of the Axis of Exile they had the Garden of Exile, which had 49 pillars that towered above you each with an olive tree at the top. The ground was uneven and it was mean to confuse you and make you feel uncomfortable, like the Jews did as they were being forced from their homes.

The Axis of Continuity lead down a long hallway with stairs at the end. A third of the way up the stairs there was a entrance to another exhibit which had 167 black and white pictures of Jewish people who emigrated from Russia and other countries to Germany. There was also the Memory Void which was probably one of my favorite places in the museum. The Memory Voice was back in a corner and it was a empty room that was 3 stories high and all over the floor there were metal faces. Over 10,000 of them. The room was silent except for the sound of you walking over the faces and taking it all in. It’s hard to explain but it was really cool and interesting. After the Memory Void I headed back up the stairs. The stairs signified the continuance of Jewish communities so it continued up even after the entrance to the final exhibit which was about ¾ of the way up the stair case. Here was the exhibit for Jews from 950-present. By the time I got this far we didn’t have much time left so Ryne and I kind of rushed through it. But there was still some interesting stuff. After the Jewish Museum we headed to Checkpoint Charlie which I opted out of because I didn’t feel good all day and people kept telling me I was pale and didn’t look every well. I was switching from hot to cold and my tummy was upset. So I got myself back to the apartment and took a nap. I slept until Kristin and Travis got back around 6:15 or so. Then I made a pizza and we just talked and hung out. We started working on our homework assignments for this week because we have one due tomorrow which is a essay quiz over the book we were supposed to read for this class…oops. And Friday we have an assignment due over a museum or memorial. I have started both of them and neither is very good but it will have to do because I have no motivation to do homework. Let’s be honest here, this is basically a vacation, no one wants to write papers on vacation. I helped Kristin catch up on her video  blog which took forever because she was a week behind but now that that is done hopefully she keeps up a bit better. Tomorrow we have class which shouldn’t take to long and then we have lots planned for in the afternoon. We are supposed to go to Memorial for Murdered Jews of Europe and the Tiergarten and in the evening Museum Island and Nikolaiviertel. I doubt all that will happen but I am assuming that we will be going to dinner with McInnis. I can’t believe my second week of class is almost over. Its going by so fast. I am looking forward to this weekend and our pub crawl and going to Dresden.

Day 13 May 15

Day 13 May 15, 2012

Class today was especially boring. We discussed the next chapter of Ladd and quite honestly I cant even tell you what it was about because I slept through most of it. Especially after the 5 minute break he gave us. I had a pillow, laid down and even started snoring :/ oops. Class got out a little before 11:00 and then I came down to my apartment and took a nap. I woke up again around 12:30 and made me a sandwich for lunch and hung out with Travis until Kristin woke up. McInnis came at 1:30 to take us sightseeing.

Today is idea of sightseeing was walking around on Karl-Marx Allee and pointing out different types of architecture and just talking and taking pictures. After walking for about 45 minutes or so we got on a train and headed to a park on the south east side of town to see the Memorial for Soviet Soldiers. McInnis got us lost and had to ask for directions from a couple walking around with their dog in a grassy meadow. It was kinda embarrassing but whatever. The memorial/monument was ridiculous! It was so massive and overtook the entire area. It was kinda pretty but at the same time I think it was over done. At the front on top of a huge hill there was a statue with a soldier holding a small child. Below the statue there was a room filled with flowers and a beautiful mosaic. I took lots of pictures and spent lots of time with Ryne and Abbey. We weren’t there for very long and then we headed back to do our own thing. I decided to go to Alexanderplatz with Kristin to get internet and upload pictures. That turned out to be a fail because I only got like 10 pictures uploaded but I will try again later this week. We were at Starbucks until they closed at 9:00 then we headed back and Ryne and I had a little dinner date. We found out everyone is upstairs getting drunk and Travis is sleeping. Kristin has a headache so she just showered and is getting ready for bed. Im sure she won’t actually go to sleep right now but she wants to feel better. I might go upstairs later but even if I do I won’t drink too much. I have no desire to get drunk every night and I have a hard enough time getting up in the morning as it is. 

Day 12 May 14- DDR Museum and Roommate dinners and Egyptian Rat Fuck

Day 12 May 14, 2012

This morning for class we gave our presentations about our individual districts. I stayed awake in class today J but showed up 10 minutes after McInnis. But that’s totally not my fault because originally he said 9 but then he texted me at 9:05 saying he wasn’t going to be there until 9:20 so I decided to take a shower quick because I didn’t get to last night because our clothes were still drying. So I showed up late but I didn’t miss anything. And we just talked and then he let us out around 10:20 until he came at 1 for sightseeing.

Over our break me and Travis took a nap. Kristin stayed up and did stuff. I’m not really sure what. I woke up around 12:15 and made pizza for lunch. Then when Travis woke up we bummed until 1. McInnis was actually on time today so that was nice. We headed to the Wall Memorial and Museum. Its basically this long strip where the wall once stood but now its replaced with metal poles with tunnels and stuff marked on the ground. Its kind of hard to explain without pictures but it was really cool. They showed where buildings once stood before the wall was build and how they were destroyed. We learned the completely moved a cemetery because it   interfered with plans for the wall. And they   even persevered a watch tower, part of the death strip, and the wall as original and block the sides so it seems as if the wall is actually there and then across the street they have an observation deck so you can look in on it from the west. That was by far my favorite part. After the museum we went to get ice cream (spaghetti eis) and then over to the DDR (GDR)  Museum.  It was really cool. Its really interactive and there are lots of original “artifacts” of the time. There was a Trabbi and you could buy Spreewald pickles. You could so pretend to be the Stasi and listen into houses, and watch old news casts. It was really neat. They also had games and actual information like regular museums but they presented it in a totally different wa also had games and actual information like regular museums but they presented it in a totally different way. I wish I would’ve taken pictures but I was just too involved in it and quite honestly forgot  I had a camera.

After the DDR Museum we went back to the apartments around 6,and I waited for Kristin and Travis. When they got home we decided to head to the grocery store because Travis needed some things. When we got home shortly after we had roommate dinner and Travis and Kristin took out the trash.J I made spiral pasta with tomato mozerella and ricotta sauce. It was really good, and Travis bought us garlic bread that was really good too. Then after dinner Kristin and I cleaned up and did dishes.  Travis decided to do laundry in the tub.

Again tonight large portions of the group got together to hangout and have a few drinks. Kristin Ryne and I played garbage with my wonderful new deck of cards. Almost everyone left by 11 except Emily Karl Collin Kristin and I. We then played Egyptian Rat Fuck and for the first time I made it to the last 2 people instead of Collin and Kristin and I did that by slapping back in! I was super excited, but Kristin still won. We only played 2 games and then Karl left. We played the foot game with just the four of us but its better with more people apparently. Then we sat and talked about tons of different things from shopping to cards to people on the group and Collin being a Marxist (except he’s really not). It was a good night and no one was drunk and crazy. Tomorrow we are discussing a chapter of Ladd I didn’t read and going to Checkpoint Charlie and the Memorial for Soviet Soldiers. We’ll see how that goes. 

Day 11 May 13- The Synagogue and being a Mother Hen

Day 11 May 13, 2012

And Sunday was the day of rest. Quite literally I slept pretty much all day. I woke up at 11 and layed in bed for a while and accidently fell asleep. I didn’t get out of bed until McInnis texted me and told me everyone had to meet and the New Synagogue at 4:30. Then I just bummed around and made pizza for me and Kristin.  Travis took Denise to the train station around 2 and Kristin and I decided to do laundry in the tub and to take a nap.

Then at 3:45 we left for the Synagogue and got there just on time. We were there for over 2 hours almost 2.5 because McInnis took forever. It was interesting but there wasn’t a ton to see because it was largely destroyed and they don’t have much original stuff left and pictures from the top were prohibited. Lame.  After that we went to dinner and then Ryne and I went to Starbucks to get internet before heading back the apartments. Most people were pretty drunk and I aided in putting people to sleep. Nate and Liz were really funny and a little over the top. Apparently a bottle and a shot glass were broken while we were out and Liz had cut her finger. By the time I settled in and opened a beer everyone was kind of scattering but I stayed and talked to Ryne and Nate and Karl. Then Nate and Karl decided they wanted to get more beer so they went off and I just hung with Ryne. After a while Emily came up looking for Karl and that’s when we realized how long they had been gone considering the store is right across the street and we decided to go looking for them. We didn’t make it far because by the time we got to the door to leave they were just coming back. We told them how stupid they were for walking around because both of them were drunk and Nate doesn’t speak any German. When we all got back upstairs Karl and Emily went to bed.  When it came to putting Nate to bed it was ridiculous. First he wanted water then bread then more bread. He kept lecturing me and Ryne about going out when people didn’t know where we were and other random things even though he just did the same thing. It was funny but at the same time I just wanted to get him to bed so I could go to bed too. I finally got to bed around 3ish.  Sorry it was a boring day. Not much to report. Tomorrow should be better.

Day 10- May 12th-- Concentration Camp and a day of rest and relaxation

Day 10 May 12, 2012

Oops, I didn’t blog last night but I had good reason. Last night after dinner and me and the majority of the group decided to hit the town and see what German night life is all about. But more about that later, let’s go back to yesterday morning.

Yesterday (Friday), was the last day of the first week of class and it wasn’t too completely horrible. We had a short class in the morning in which we discussed our homework assignments from the German History Museum. Class was just in an apartment upstairs and it was relatively painless. Some of the things people talked about were quite interesting, and most of them were war related because it is something we are all familiar with. After class we had a lunch break and time for a short nap J McInnis called me around 12:15 to tell us to meet him at the U-Bahn station so we wouldn’t miss our Regional Bahn train to Sachsenhausen. The ride to the concentration camp was kind of long. Sachsenhausen is north-east of Berlin and turns out it was absolutely HUGE! We learned so much with our tour and the guide was really informative and nice. Sachsenhausen was the first large concentration camp and it had the “headquarters” where inspectors and such off all camps where located. The tour was around 2 hours and then we had to take a bus, a S-Bahn  and a U-bahn back to our apartments. Kristin and I headed back with the first bus. That still gave us an hour after the tour ended to just look around and take a peek at some of the museums on sight. I have some really great pictures of just how massive this place was. It was more than just the camp. There we factories and SS housing, huge woods surrounding it, and warehouses scattered around. The camp was largely destroyed after the 1950’s. Immediately after the war the Soviets used it as a concentration camp but in a different way. It was used to hold Nazi’s that were arrested for war crimes. I found that very interesting.

When we finally got back I made dinner for me and Kristin. Travis’ girlfriend met him at the train station and is spending this weekend with us. It’s cute. They have been dating for over 3 years and they live 4500 miles apart. Anyway, I made spӓtzel with garlic tomato sauce for me and Kristin and after that we just hung out and had a few glasses of wine. Part way through our second glasses Liz and Nate come down to our room saying we should go out with them to a bar. Originally we said not but we were peer pressured into going. I am glad we did it was a lot of fun. Liz and I did tequila shots and I had a few drinks as well. At the bar it was Me, Kristin, Nate, Liz, Sarah, Collin, Emily, and Karl. We laughed and talked and didn’t head back until after 1. Then we went up to Collin and Karl’s room and talked some more and had another drink or 2. Around 3ish Kristin and I went down to the room and took our showers and talked for a while. Apparently I was a bit drunker than I intended but that’s all good.

Now into today. Kristin and I slept in decently late, and by that I mean 12:30ish. We woke up ate lunch and watched a movie. We couldn’t decide what to do with our day because we are kinda pushing off our next assignment and Travis wasn’t here anyway. We decided that we needed to get out of the house so we vacuumed and then went into Kreuzberg to explore the area. The next assignment was to explore a district and write a “ditty” about it. It has to be 400-700 words again and it doesn’t seem to hard. We spent about 2 hours just walking around and seeing what was there. Then we decided to go to Hackescher Markt and walk around. Kristin and I ended up spending 23-26€ a piece on postcards and we went to dinner on top of that. I also bought a Brüder Grimm Fairytales book that I am really excited about. For dinner we shared a pizza that was topped with Broccoli and Sheep Cheese. It was sooooo good! After dinner we headed back to Alexanderplatz and got some ice cream before heading back to the apartments. When we got back here Travis and Denise were back and just chilling in the living room so we talked to them for a while. Kristin and I split a beer and then people started showing up to hang out. When Travis and Denise decided they were going to bed we moved the part upstairs. There was a lot of us up there and we just talked and danced a little and just had a good time. I really like that everyone on this trip gets along pretty well and we can just hangout . I hope it stays like this when we all return to the states.  Towards the end after people started leaving it was just Karl, Emily, Kristin, Collin, and I and we started playing Egyptian Rat Screw (Fuck) it was really fun but takes a bit to get the hang of. We kinda plan on making this a regular occurance. Now I am going to bed because we plan on doing laundry and some other things tomorrow before heading into the city to either go to a Sunday Market or go shopping with Liz and Abbey. We will see how that goes. Goodnight.

Day 8, May 10: Class, Museum, and SHOPPING

Day 8 May 10, 2012

Well another day of class down and a museum visited. Today we had class along the Spree River in a grassy little park area. It was really nice but I was kinda tired so I dozed off a little. Class was relatively short. The worst part was the walk there and deciding where we were going. McInnis is trying really hard to keep us away from internet during class so we walked around a bit and went ended up going a few stops over on the U-Bahn. Today in classed we talked about Nazi Germany so it wasn’t a super new class it was a lot of stuff we were sort of familiar with just with a bit more detail. After class was over around 11:00 we went to the Deutsches Historisches Museum. The DHM is a huge museum on Museum Insel. Which is a island of museums basically in the center of the city. The exhibits range from about 700 B.C and went to all the way up to 1994. It was amazing there was so much history and interesting information all over the place. We also had an assignment to keep in mind while we were there. We had to pick an object and write 400-700 words about what it was and why  it is signicant. Some of the things in there included Hilter’s desk, a model of the planned Volkshalle (which I wrote my paper on), some WWI posters, a knight in shining armor, old maps and silver. Just a bunch of random stuff. After the museum (around 1) Kristin and I went back to Alexanderplatz and got a Crepe for lunch at the train station. They were so good. I had Apple sauce with cinnamon sugar and Kristin had Cherry jelly. Then we ate as we walked to the Alexa. Alexa is a HUGE mall in the Platz with tons of amazing stores. I spent way too much money but had a really good time and got lots of cool stuff. I bought some shoes, a ton of postcards, some of my favorite pens, naked man cards, and a book titled “German Grammar in a nutshell”. Im really excited for that J

At the mall we met up with Abbey Nate and Ryne and shopped and had a good time. At 5:00 we decided to head back to the apartments and settle in for the night. Kristin and I decided to make dinner. I made Maultashcen (sorry spelling sucks) with a garlic tomato sauce. Yummy!! Then we took out the trash and after a bit of trouble opening the gate to the dumpsters and realizing we were trying to use the wrongs ones we sorted our trash and then went to the store to return bottles for our refunds and get some more groceries. When we got back we wrote some postcards and chilled with Travis. Travis went to bed around nine and Ryne came over and talked to us for a bit. Later Kristin and I went out to try to get internet but the server crashed and we couldn’t get on. Probably from Sarah being on it ALL THE TIME! But we still wrote our papers for class tomorrow and talked with Ryne, Collin, and some other people at the backery. Then we came back here and just talked, cleaned our room, took showers, and got ready for bed. This trip is going so fast but it feels so at home, I’m not really sure I want to go back. But I do miss Phil and really wish he was here with me again.

Travis’ girlfriend is coming up tomorrow and spending the weekend with us. I’m excited to meet here and I think it will be fun to have a new face around. Charlie is really getting to me, I am tired of hearing about how great Munich is compared to Berlin, he can go anytime.

There has been significantly little drama on this trip and I am really glad. I like the have fun get along atmosphere we have going on and I only hope it lasts. I keep forgetting that most people have only been here since Sunday so it has only been 4 days for them instead of my 8. Wow 8 days down and only 3 weeks to go. What am I going to do?! Time flies!

Day 7 May 9-- East Side Gallery, Reichstag, and a Bar

Day 7 May 9, 2012

Holy crap I have been in Berlin a whole week already!! This is crazy time has gone so fast and we have already done so much but there is so much more to see. Today we had our first class. Boo! We had to meet with our groups this morning to discuss a chapter in Ladd. I had chapter three with Kristin Emily and Karl. I went to class but kind of dozed off for most of the discussion because it was a review of our pre-departure meetings. Meetings went from 9:30 ish to about 11:00 and McInnis didn’t show up til about 11:30 for class and it went til almost 1:00. Then we were dismissed for lunch and had to meet again at 2:30 for sightseeing.

Today for sightseeing we went to the East Side Gallery and walked the whole thing. It was really interesting and some of the artwork was AMAZING! I realized how immature some people are and that they needed to graffiti some of the pieces. After that we hung out in a grassy field and just chilled and waited for McInnis to finish before he headed over to the Reichstag. The Reichstag is a HUGE super beautiful parliament building near the Brandenburg Gate. It was destroyed in WW2 and rebuild to part of its former glory afterwards. It is famous for its glass dome on top and the motto above the main enterence. “For the German People”. It was interesting that today we had to go through basically airport security to get into the building and really we didn’t even go inside we just went to the top to look around. Its free but we had to have background checks and passports to get in. The reason for this sudden change in security measures (it used to be completely open to the public inside and roof) is because about 18 months ago some crazy Austrian decided he wanted to bomb the building and German government would have none of that so they completely altered the security and now everyone needs to make appointments weeks in advance and get background checks and cool stuf like that. Later in the trip we get to tour the inside but today we just went to the top and walked in the dome and had a view of the city. We spent a good deal of time there just looking round and seeing what there was to see. After that the whole group when out to dinner at a little Italian restaurant on the west side of the city. I had a pizza with ham mushrooms and rocket. Rocket is sort of like arugula very peppery. After dinner we headed back to the apartments and Nate Ryne and I decided we wanted to go get a drink at a bar before going to bed so we asked for directions at the local bakery and they sent us down the road a mere 500 meters where there was tons of stuff we didn’t know existed. It was kinda scary and finally we just picked one and it turned out to be a punk bar. That sounds weird but that’s the only way I can describe it. The bartender was the super edgy chick but she was really nice and helped us out picking what to drink. We had Jack and Coke, Cherry with Vodka, and their special a Moscow Mule. I didn’t like the Moscow Mule it was made with cucumbers and I thought it was weird but Nate drank his really fast. Then we walked back to find that my roommates suck and had a party while we were gone. Just kidding, well not about the party but about the fact that my roommates suck. They are great. I come home just at the end and we chatted bit before getting ready for bed. On the bright side because they had people over for beers tonight we have tons of bottles to turn in for deposit. And the can/bottle deposit here is way more ranging from 25-75 cents a bottle depending on side and material. Tomorrow we have class again at 9:00 and McInnis is coming to get us to lead us back to his apartment. I am not looking forward to class at all considering it is just after 3 in the morning now and I am still writing. 

Day 6- May 8:Bike tour

Day 6 May 8, 2012

Say today was a reasonably decent day. I woke up around 10:00 and spent got ready and then I took Ryne, Abbey, Liz, and Nate to the store since they didn’t know where it was and they needed groceries. After that we headed back to the apartments intending to then go to the mall since we didn’t need to meet McInnis until 2:30. We ended up not going to the mall and just bumming round the apartments. We got some food and just chatted. At 3:0 we headed to Alexanderplatz to meet for our bike tour. The tour was really fun but I cant remember the guys name. I do remember he was from Wales and really cute :p  The tour took about 5 hours and we saw lots of sights and he gave us a lot of history. Around seven we stopped in a beer garden and got dinner and had a beer. Yes, me. Jacki Smith drank and entire real beer. And not even a light beer. After that we set back out for some more sights and finally made it back to the shop around 9:15 pm. We were all tired even though the bike tour wasn’t all that strenuous. Just long. We also learned the most important phrase “Poor but sexy” that’s the motto for Berliners apparently. Me and Kristin decided not to hang around in the city and head back to the apartments to shower and get ready for bed. We ended up going to the corner to get some internet and email home just to say we were alive and having fun. Tomorrow we have class in the morning and then exploring at night. Kristin and I plan on going shopping sometime this week when we have free time but for now going to bed goodnight.

Day 5 May 7: Arrival of the others

Day 5 May 7, 2012

Today was a lot less exciting than originally planned. We slept in a little later than planned (we really need to stop doing that). Travis arrived around 11:45. Then we ate breakfast and just caught up with him. We took him to the store and showed him around a bit. McInnis texted me last night saying that planes got delayed because of bad weather in Chicago. Around 2:30 he arrived with Abby and then left again to get Ryne Nate Liz Karl and Emily. When he arrived at 5:30 he didn’t have Karl and Emily because he couldn’t find them at the airport and had never received any notice from them otherwise. While McInnis was gone the girls played cards and Travis napped. When they got back we headed into Alexanderplatz to get dinner and McInnis went to the airport to get Charlie. We ate at a Spanish type restaurant and Kristin and I split a dish call Paella. It was basically rice chicken veggies and curry. It was really good and it was recommended by Bubser. After we paid Travis and Kristin headed back to the apartments because they had to meet McInnis and Charlie so he had a key. Me Nate Ryne Liz Sarah and Abbey waked around a bit to try and find some ice cream and just talk. It was a good time. Then we headed back to the apartment to get some stuff from the bakery and some wine. Then we found free wifi and emailed back home. Tomorrow we have a bike tour and hopefully Karl and Emily show up. Collin is flying in early tomorrow morning sometime. And that’s about all I have for today. I’m tired and haven’t been sleeping well. 

Day 4 May 6

Day 4 May 6, 2012

Today was a lot of fun. Kristin and I woke up around 10:30-10:45 because McInnis was supposed to come at noon. We woke up and ate breakfast; we had Fruit Rings which is basically the generic German version of Fruit Loops. Hey were slightly bigger and had a slightly different texture but were really good. After breakfast we got dressed and just kinda hung around. We made sure Sarah was up and finally McInnis got here around 12:30 (it seems he is always late). Then we headed to Schloss Charlottenburg which is a really beautiful palace on the out skirts of Berlin. It was beautiful and we took an audio tour around the old part of the palace. We bought some post cards and walked around the gardens a bit. The gardens were HUGE and seriously spanned acres. There was a fountain and a big pond as well as lots of wonderful smelling lilac bushes and a porcelain museum that we opted out of because McInnis didn’t have money and because it cost extra after the 8€ ticket we had already bought to the palace. After the gardens we decided to get something to eat for dinner and we chose authentic German food. We went to a brewery (very German) the Spezi (a drink mix of Coke and Fanta) came in these awesome beer mugs and I ordered Flammkuchen. Flammkuchen is kinda like a pizza except it’s not. It has a super thin crust almost like paper but better tasting. Then it has a cream cheese/sour cream type sauce and mine was topped with red onions bacon and leaks. It was really good. Kristin got spӓtzel with cheese and ham. We split because neither one of us could decide what sounded better. After dinner we sat and talked a bit then got back on the train to come to the apartments. The train near Alexander Platz is kind of under construction/maintenance right now so we have to hop off and switch sides like every 2 stops. When we got back to Heinrich Heine Straβe we decided to find a post office so we could send our wonderful boyfriends their postcardsJ. We figured out the automated stamp machine and realized they are actually cheaper than we originally thought only ,75€. After that we got back to the apartments and Kristin and I each had a glass of Riesling wine (which is a German wine) and we talked and she recorded her video blog which is hilarious. I was her camera girl, lol. After that I took a shower and we are probably going to be getting ready for bed soon. Tomorrow the other students start to arrive and Kristin Sarah and I get to help people find their way back the apartments J yay, kinda. I like that I know what I am doing and that people get to rely on me but if we could do it so can they. Ryne, Colin, and Nate  come in first so that will be interesting. I’m looking forward to having more people here but at the same time I’m not I have become rather comfortable in my apartment and the small group excursions into the city. I think once everyone else shows up the group dynamic will be completely different but I am sure it will still be fun. Now I should be going to bed since I need to completely reset my sleep patterns. Gute Nacht!!

Day 3 May 5

Day 3- May 5, 2012

So Kristin and I failed hard core last night. We didn’t go to be until almost 5am and that kinda threw getting up at 9:30 out tahe window. Last night we had a great conversation though and we came up with the hypothesis that German comes easier to gay boys. For example: Charlie, Zachary, and Herr McInnis (??).  It was funny. We are going to text our hypothesis with Ryne and Nate on this trip too.

                Today we woke up at a little after 1:00 and then just kinda chilled in the apartment. We finally decided to head into the city and gave McInnis a call seeing if he wanted to come too. He came over and we talked for a bit and then decided to go to the zoo J It took us a while to find it and figure it all out because of breaks in the U-bahn line because of construction. We didn’t get to the zoo until about 4 and only had 2 hours before it closed so we were kinda rushed. We didn’t get to see the Eisbӓr and some other things but we did get to see a Lion that kept roaring and sprayed piss. It was funny they even had a warning sign. We also saw a chimpanzee that was peeling carrots with his teeth and loved attention. After that it gathered up all the hay in the cage and made itself a bed in a clean corner it was really cute! We also got to watch elephants get brushed off and some cute small animals.

                After the zoo we came back to the general area of our apartments and found a grocery store and we bought stuff and took it back to the apartments. There we unpacked and went back into the city for Abendessen. It was cold and rainy and we had to walk a bit to the restaurant because it was in between two stops. We went to a restaurant called Basil. It was really nice and really delicious and we talked and just enjoyed the company. And when we left they gave us a shot of some cool liquor to go. It was called Amarula it seems kinda seems like a Baileys kinda thing. After dinner we came back to the apartment and got ready for bed. It was a good day and tomorrow we plan on getting up earlier  and McInnis is coming to meet us noon to take us into the city again. That’s all for tonight 

Day 2- May 4th

Day 2- May 4, 2012

Well my first full day in Berlin and what do I do?? SLEEP! It was late last night when Kristin and I finally made it to bed so we slept in til almost noon today. Then we just kinda chilled in our apartment and talked. Finally we decided it would be a smart idea to fill out the room condition report that had to be turned in before the land lord left at 2. So we checked over the apartment and headed over to the office which is was just down the street. Then we tried to wake up Sarah. Finally we rang enough and she woke up. I just chilled in the room and Sarah filled out her condition report and Kristin took her to the office to turn it in. By the time they got back I was basically sleeping so Kristin decided to take a nap too. We woke back up at about 2:30 when McInnis texted saying he was just leaving the airport and would be here in about an hour and we could go get our Fahrkarten for the month. I fell back asleep and woke up to my phone ringing and McInnis speaking German saying he was here. I jumped out of bed and let him in. Then we chatted a bit and headed into the city again to get our cards. After that we went to dinner and just talked some more. We also walked around to burn off some energy and did a bit of touristy shopping. After that we decided to head back to the apartments. After we got back to the apartment we almost had a heartattack because our living room door was closed but the balcony door was wide open. We searched the entire place and made sure our stuff was still her e and after we did that and everything was here and a stranger wasn’t, we relaxed a bit. I showered and then Kristin and I invited Sarah over to play cards. We went to the market and bought a bottle of wine and some vodka to drink and it was fun. We talked and laughed and just had a good time. Sarah left around 1:00 in the morning and Kristin got in the shower and I got ready for bed. Tomorrow we plan on not sleeping so much and exploring Berlin a bit.

Day 1- May 3, 2012. Arrival in Berlin

Day 1- May 3, 2012. Arrival in Berlin:

So, first day in Berlin not so exciting. Lots of it was spend traveling and I was kinda majorly stressed out. I flew into Chicago from Cedar Rapids by myself (That was technically still on May 2) and then from Chicago to London with a good friend Kristin. That flight is when things kinda took a turn for the not so good on the travel related side. I was excited for Berlin so I couldn’t sleep. But once I did finally start to wind down and run out of energy while watching the Social Network, this drunk woman comes back and literally tries to crawl over me to sit next to the guy I was sitting next to. She wakes me up and I tell her I will move so she can get in. Then as I stand up she pushes through and breaks by new headphones L No more music for me. I mess around with my headphones for a bit trying to get them to work again but no luck. So I recline my seat a bit more and count sheep and sing the 99 bottles of beer song. Just as I am about to fall asleep again, a flight attendant comes over and talks to the drunk woman who proceeds to raise her voice and get all worked up. With about 4 hours left in the flight I finally manage to fall asleep and wake up just after breakfast was served and we land in about an hour.

After getting to London me and Kristen got off the plain and headed through passport control and security  and attempted to find the terminal for our flight for Berlin. We ended up having to take a bus for about 10-15 minutes to a terminal separate from the actual airport. After getting there we needed to find our gate. By this point we figured it should be on the screens but no. It wasn’t. We were stressing out a bit. We landed in London at about 11:45 and our flight to Berlin boarded at 12:45. It was already 12:35 and the screen just said please wait. Finally at 12:48 we find the flight was delayed slightly, we were informed which gate to go to and that we would be boarding shortly. There we met up with Sarah who is also in our group, we boarded the plane at took off just a little behind schedule. I slept the whole way to Berlin even though it wasn’t a very long flight. After arriving in Berlin again we had to go through passport control before we could claim our baggage. Here, yet again we run into some trouble. My checked luggage wasn’t on the carrousel. We waited for quite a while and found out that we needed to go the British Airways lost and found. I talked to the ladies there and they said my bag was still in London and will be on the next flight, so it should be here by 8 come back at 9 or we can deliver it. Then we headed to the apartment. That took a while. About an hour because we got lost because our map from Google Maps sucked, it was all turned around. After getting there Kristin and Sarah unpacked  and I wandered around the apartment. Checking it out. Then we went to get ourselves a Döner Kebap and back to the airport. By the time we got back the apartment it was time for shower and bed which is what I’m about to do now. Goodnight J