Berlin Study Tour

Back from Berlin! My Cross-Cultural Psychology class went there for the week for our study tour, so we left on Monday morning and arrived back in Copenhagen last night. Overall, Berlin was a weird city. Compared to the rest of Europe I've seen, it's kind of ugly. That's partially because it's so modern - it was rebuilt in the '70s after Cold War bombing and destruction, so the history related to the city is all connected to World War II and after. Although I did all the quintessential sightseeing things, I was still underwhelmed with what the city had to offer. Don't get me wrong, the World War II/Holocaust memorials and history were very meaningful and unique, but I think my expectations for it were a little too high. Regardless, I still had an enjoyable week with good friends and good food. Here's a quick synopsis:

MONDAY: Wake up at 4:45am. Get to the airport at 6:15. Fly to Berlin and arrive at 10:00. Go to the Jewish Museum. Best part was an art exhibit there of over 2,000 metal "faces" (see below) representing the victims of the Holocaust, and visitors could walk across them which made loud clanging "scream" sounds. Very moving. Eat lunch. Take a walking tour of the Jewish quarter and other parts of the city.

Jewish museum symbolic art

TUESDAY: Rain rain rain. Lecture about the German Democratic Republic at the DDR museum. German bratwurst for lunch! Interactive lecture and activities at the MILES center for LGBTQ youth. Dinner with class at an awesome place that served schnitzel, which is so delicious.

WEDNESDAY: Lecture at an Anti-Semitism Historical Center. Lunch at a Croatian restaurant. Sightseeing with friends, finally! We went to Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust memorial, and the Parliament building. Then a bunch of us went up in the TV Tower, which was a great view of the city. When I walked out, my floormate Maggie (who was in the other class in Berlin) was sitting outside waiting for me! So we went out for a great Mexican dinner and everything went uphill from there.

THURSDAY: Talk at the Department of Immigration. We had the afternoon off and DIS recommended we go to a museums, but a bunch of us decided to go to a concentration camp instead. We saw the East Wall Memorial, grabbed lunch, and took a 45-minute train out to the camp. It was called Sachsenhausen, and over 36,000 people died there from 1936-1945. We took a guided tour of the place and saw the living and working areas and the extermination area. It was a shocking, informative, and somewhat unreal experience. We were all extremely glad we decided to go there instead of museums. After, we sprinted (literally) back to the train station so we could get to our group dinner on time. The dinner was at "Dark Restaurant," where you eat in total darkness and all the waiters are blind. We had to choose between a beef, poultry, fish, or vegetarian 3-course meal, and we didn't know what any of the dishes were until afterwards. It was so much fun and a very unique experience. The food was great - I got a salad with meat, a filet with potatoes and beans, and key lime pie with chocolate and pineapple for dessert. Yum! Needless to say, this was definitely my favorite day in Berlin.

Blind restaurant

Sachsenhausen gate: "Work will make you free"

FRIDAY: Visit to the Boros art collection. This was another one of my favorite places. It's an old bunker that's now used to house modern art, and it was a neat set-up with lots of truly interesting and symbolic modern art. Usually I'm not a fan, but there were some incredibly creative pieces, and the whole class enjoyed it. After our last group lunch at a Bavarian restaurant, I went to the East Side Gallery (all the paintings along the Wall), and finally got a soft pretzel with cheese that I'd been wanting all week. After that, it was time to leave Berlin!

Wall art

So, like I said - Berlin was weird, and I'm definitely glad I went and was able to see Germany, but I don't think I'd actively go back on my own again. Now I'm back in Copenhagen, and I have one more week of class left. I'm sad it's almost over, but I'm also super excited to travel afterwards. So one last Copenhagen post will come next week!