Country/City #1: Berlin, Germany.
The day after finishing my practicum, I was off to Berlin for five days. I had such a great time in this awesome city! There is so much history in the city and surrounding area, and it was really interesting to be able to learn about that history while there. I learned a lot about both WWII and the Cold War which I didn't previously know. I managed to navigate the subway system-with a few hiccups the first day due to work on the tracks and a strike. I met lots of wonderful people at the hostel that I stayed at, and even got to watch a football game in a European sports bar that was packed with wall-to-wall people watching the game. I still couldn't tell you who won, or even what teams were playing, but it was very cool to be there and see how invested people got in the game!
My first day in Berlin, I went on a tour of Potsdam, which is kind of a suburb of Berlin. We spent the afternoon touring the huge, beautiful park where the kings of Prussia had their palaces. It was really a wonderful place to see-the only thing that would have made it better would have been if the weather would have been a little nicer!
The "summer home" of Frederick the Great
I also spent some time in Berlin exploring the 1936 Olympic Stadium. The stadium itself is still used today for football games and various events throughout the year.
One of the most interesting things I did in Berlin was to go to a concentration camp about a half an hour outside the city. Sachsenhausen was used as a work camp, and some of the stories our tour guide told us were absolutely heartbreaking. This was one of those times that I realized that, while you can learn about these place sitting in a classroom, nothing is more impactful than actual visiting the site and seeing it in person.
The gate at Sachsenhausen reads "Work makes you free". Sadly, more often than not this was not the case.
This track was used as a form of punishment. Here, prisoners would be forced to walk for miles with heavy items on their shoulders. This was done as a way to test boots that were being made for the German army.
My time in Berlin was so much fun, and I did so much. If I was going to talk about it all, this blog would never end! However, I will say that Berlin was one of my favorite places that I visited, and I hope to go back some day!
Country/City #2: London, England.
I was so excited to finally be going to London. This is one city that I have wanted to visit forever! I had just two and a half short days there, and I definitely made the most of it! I visited Kensington Palace (where Will and Kate live today!), rode the London Eye, spent a couple hours riding around on a double-decker bus, I saw Big Ben, and walked through Westminster Abbey. I spent an afternoon walking through Hyde Park and enjoying some beautiful spring weather. I had a blast! I will say, even with the astronomical number of people there, I really loved London, and I could even see myself living there one day!
My aunt and I in front of the gate at Kensington Palace
Buckingham Palace
Me in front of the gates at Buckingham Palace
View from the London Eye
This is the door at Westminster Abbey that Kate walked through the day of the royal wedding!
Spent some time at the Princess Diana memorial fountain, enjoying the sunshine!
As I said, I really loved London. I do wish I would've had even one more day to enjoy the city! There is so much to do and see! Yet another place that I just have to go back to one day!
I'm going to end this post here. In my next post, I will share some photos and memories that happened while I was in France! Stay tuned!
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