Berlin Trip!

Let me begin by saying that I can't believe that its already been 3 full weeks since I arrived in Germany. In that time, I've had the opportunity to experience many facets of German culture, but it also reminds me of how short my time left is. With only 25 days until I return to the US, time is running short to do everything I want to do in Germany....but I'll try my best!

This week was extremely busy. Tuesday and Wednesday, we went on an excursion to Berlin led by our program coordinator Malte Sandner, a PhD student and teacher for special tasks at Leibniz who had worked on his Masters thesis for an energy company in Berlin. After a short two hour train ride from Hannover, we arrived in Berlin in the early afternoon, and brought our luggage to the hotel we'd be staying at...interestingly it had two sets of bunk beds in the rooms (no, it wasn't a hostel), but it worked since we had to fit three people into each room. After checking in, we went to the STASI Museum on the East side. Once home to the secret police organization for Eastern Germany (the GDR), the museum was left essentially untouched from the days it served as the STASI's headquarters. Filled with authentic spy gear, untouched offices, and propaganda posters, the place was a chilling reminder of the state of fear that the people in Eastern Germany once lived in under the Soviet Union where everyone feared that their neighbor was going to turn them in. From listening to western music to wearing blue jeans, nearly everything could be considered grounds for suspicion. After that, we headed back near the main station for a guided walking tour of the city titled "Third Reich Berlin" where it began in front of the German House of Parliament, the Reichstag. The history of the building itself was quite interesting, and as we went on an actual tour of the building the next day, it was really evident how much of Germany's history could be told by the events of the building which today houses the Bundestag, or Parliament.

From the tour's start at the Reichstag, we continued on to see more of the sights of Hitler's Berlin from the Teirgarten memorials to the Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial. After we went to the Jewish Holocaust memorial, we went a few blocks to what is today home to a residential neighborhood, with a very dark past. Today only denoted with a single sign, the former home to Hitler's Bunker where he and his close confidants spent the final days of the war is today a parking lot and residential apartment building. Interestingly, our guide said the apartment building is primarily holiday rentals, so you have to wonder if most who stay there really know the past of the ground they are living in. We continued on to see more of Berlin including he former home of the GDR Propaganda Department  which is now home to the German Finance Ministry....and houses a large mural of GDR economic traditions which united farmers, workers and intellectuals. From there we went on to see a large portion of the remaining Berlin Wall (in terrible shape for only being 60 years old), as well as the former home to the Gestapo Headquarters. Then continued on to see Checkpoint Charlie wich served as the entrance to the American controlled sector of W. Berlin and finished the tour on the modern campus of Humboldt University where massive book burnings took place with works that conflicted with National Socialist ideology. Today Humboldt is one of the top universities in Germany, but still feels the aftermath of the huge loss of culture that resulted from book burnings and loss of Jewish professors some 80 years ago.

After the tour, we hit up an authentic german restaurant, and I had the Schnitzel and a nice glass of Berlin's own official beer. Afterwards, Malte showed us some of the East Berlin nightlife that he experienced during his time in the city. The highlight of the night was definitely visiting a one of a kind ping pong club. As the night ended, we walked back a few kilometers to our hotel and saw a lot more of Berlin. But even though its germany's largest city, not once did it seem unsafe.

The next day, we began with a tour of the Reichstag Building. It is a place which contains a lot of history, but one wouldn't necessarily think so based on how modern the architecture is today. It was completely gutted and renovated within the last 20 years and to me the parliament chambers almost look more like a Southern Baptist Mega Church than a house of government. But, this architectural flair wasn't just noticable at the Reichstag, it also appeared throughout Berlin including Angela Merkel's Chancellory and the city skyline. But, beyond the modern look, the Reichstag is definitely full of history. One interesting part is how they decided to leave the graffiti left behind by the Russian troops which took the building at the end of the war. Also, the proximity to where the Berlin Wall was later built made the Reichstag an important building during separated Berlin, even though it didn't serve as a House of Government. Today, the Reichstag stands for the ideals of new Germany. With a modern look with a deep history, the building seems to serve as an effective house of the people, especially considering Germany's interesting political structure of multiple parties and differing ideology.

HISSEMA Students in the Reichstag (Hard shot to fit us all in!!)

See what I mean? Southern Baptist Mega-Church....

After the Reichstag tour, we went on an "alternative" Bike Tour. Its hard to describe and my camera was dead by the time it started, but the tour we went on (15 Kilometers in 2.5 Hours) took us through parts of Berlin that I couldn't imagine many tourists ever see.

Bike Tour After Photo. LtoR: Sean Foglia (California), Eli Karttunen (Michigan), Nick Segner (Pennsylvania), Danny Liera (California), Malte Sander (Germany), Julian Uribe (California), Kamille Schneider (California), Rutwik Jagtap (India).

Afterwards, we were tired enough to spend an hour just relaxing in a nice park surrounded by authentic Berliners. Then to grab a quick bite to eat (authentic Bavarian food!) and catch the train back to Hannover, our trip to Berlin may have been quick, but certainly fulfilling.

HISSEMA Group in Front of the Reichstag from LtoR: Malte Sandner (Leibniz University, Program Coordinator), Kamille Schneider (California), Eli Karttunen (Michigan), Rutwik Jagtap (India), Julian Uribe (California), Nick Segner (Pennsylvania), Sean Foglia (California), Danny Liera (California).