Berlin

This weekend was so needed and a great refresher before the last month of my time abroad. What made this weekend so fabulous was not Berlin, but rather being with two beautiful Bennies and my best friends, Molly and Meghan. Berlin was a cool city (and so large - it took like 30 minutes to get anywhere and everywhere by public transit), but I saw what I wanted to and have no desire to go back one day.

Friday I arrived at the airport around 11:30 and was greeted with a large hug from Molly. We adventured on a 40 minute train ride to get into the city with the hopes of finding some cheaper food. We found a cute little café with bagels and soup. I ordered a pumpkin soup and Molly ordered a bagel sandwich. After stopping at McDonalds and enjoying an Oreo sundae, we realized we still had an hour or so before Megs would get in. We decided instead of meeting her at the transit stop in Berlin as planned, we would surprise her at the airport. Best decision ever. Meghan was so surprised. Haha. After many hugs, we travelled onward to our AirBnB. We decided that what we all wanted that night was to cook our own dinner and spend some time together. We bought some groceries, ice cream bars, and a bottle of wine at the local grocery store and enjoyed a wonderful evening simply catching up with each other. It felt so natural and at times I forgot how long it had really been.

Saturday morning we woke up fairly early in order to see everything we wanted to see. We started the morning with eggs and cheese we bought at the grocery store, but they were way to cheesy (aka cheese with eggs) and were sort-of terrible. I still feel bad that I screwed up the eggs with too much cheese, but Molly and Megs were good sports about it. We spent the morning at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, a concentration camp for political prisoners about 45 minutes north of Berlin. This was my first time at a concentration camp and it was a very powerful experience. One thing that was the most impactful was finding out about all the violence that occurred even within the barracks, specifically the washroom and bunk room. We could have spent all day at the camp reading all the details and hearing every story, but instead we departed back into the city. It was definitely hard to walk out of there knowing that even though I was cold and hungry, I was able to walk out of the camp at the time I desired with a sandwich and apple in my bag and a warm train ride ahead. 

Heart Molly drew in the execution trench 

Memorial at the concentration camp

After arriving back in the city center, we first stopped at the Berlin Wall Memorial for a short bit before heading to the East Gallery Wall. Some of the artwork on the wall was very inspiring and peaceful and other artwork was just fun. We then headed towards the Holocaust Memorial. This Memorial seemed quite large with 2,000 blocks of all different sizes, but yet the size seemed too small compared to the number of people who lost their life in the Holocaust. The blocks were meant to first appear as if there was a systematic order to it, but really the order was just confusing. Quite symbolic. We then headed towards our last must see of Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate. After taking many pictures in the rain at the gate, we headed towards the Mall of Berlin. Molly wanted to find a large purse (she found a very cute pink one, the perfect color for Molly) and Meghan needed a belt. We ate at the food court in the Mall, figuring it would be easier and cheaper. After dinner, we headed towards the WinterWelt at Potsdamer Platz. There we had a pretzel and mulled wine (in adorable cups we got to keep) before enjoying a wonderful fun ride on the Toboggan Slide. The three of us were able to slide down together and it was the perfect way to end our Saturday evening. We headed back to our apartment around 8:30 PM and enjoyed the rest of the evening together - of course, making fun and goofy videos. 

Sunday morning, we had a much better breakfast with eggs (no cheese this time) and little pizza bites we hadn't eaten yet. Our last time together was spent at Mass, a perfect ending to the weekend if you ask me. Meghan had a much earlier flight than Molly and I, so Meghan headed back to the airport after Mass while Molly and I headed off to the Olympic Stadium. The Olympic Stadium was incredible and I was so glad that Molly had really wanted to go. This was the stadium that Jesse Owens had run at in his first Olympics, so it was awe-striking to be in such a historical place. We realized at one point that we had walked exactly where Hitler had also walked at the beginning of the games. That was a bit of a scary moment to realize. Molly and I eventually headed back towards the city center for lunch. We found a really good Asian place and were surprised by the amount of food we got (we realized we totally could have split one). After wondering around a near-by park, we headed off to the airport a bit early to catch our flights back to our respectful countries.

As I write this on the plane ride home, I can't help but smile about all the fun memories I will forever have in Berlin with my two best friends. It was a weekend that gave me energy to finish the next month strong. Berlin was a city that was full of historical monuments. I got this feeling throughout every special location within Berlin that we must never forget the past. Whether the past was the Holocaust or the Wall or something else completely, Berlin and the world will forever be impacted by those events. This aspect made the trip to Berlin much more impactful than I could have imagined.

To Molly and Meghan, thanks so much for this weekend. It will truly be one I will never forget. You reminded me that even though this semester I don't fully feel apart of a community with my program, I have a community back at home that will always love and support me no matter where I am located. Thanks for the refreshing weekend and I look forward to seeing both of you in a month's time. In the meanwhile, I hope both of you enjoy the time you have left abroad and have safe travels home. I'll see ya in the USA soon! <3