Satruday, July 16th: Berlin City Girls

by: Erica Keenan

On the morning of July 16th, I was woken up before the crack of dawn. Well, okay maybe it was just 5:00 AM, but still. On a Saturday it is very unusual for me to be awake before at least nine, but this day was special. It had been decided that my host partners dad would take my partner, Greta and I, along with another pair of GAPPies, Stephanie and Helena, to Berlin. We were planning on being Berlin City Girls, although not quite like the ones in the song "Berlin City Girl" from Culcha Candela. :)

For those of you who don't exactly know where Greven is on a map it is in the North-Western part of Germany...and Berlin is in the exact opposite direction! Needless to say the drive there was long. Four hours to be exact. To pass the time in the car, me, Greta, Helena, and Stephanie all slept...pretty much the whole way.

When we finally arrived in Berlin around 10:00 AM I was well-rested and ready for the day! Our first stop was the Kurfürstendamm...a very long street with many shopping places. But I had a mission there, this street was very important to one of my family members, and I wanted to make sure I got a good picture there.

Stephanie and I posing with on of many Berlin Bears on Kufürstendam (or the Kudamm)

After achieving my goal we all loaded back up in the car and drove to the place where many of Germany's government buildings are located. We saw the place where Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, works, as well as many international affairs buildings.

Stephanie, Me, Helena, and Greta in front of one of the many buildings.

We then started walking around the city in search for a bank. Stephanie and I were planning on buying some things while on our trip...therefore we needed to withdrawal a little cash. Unfortunately many of the banks we found were closed, which was strange because it was just a normal Saturday. On our search for a bank we ran across the Brandenburg Tor -Brandenburg Gate- which is really not something you could miss if you tried. If you think it's huge in pictures...it's even bigger in person! So, we took a break from our little bank quest and stopped to take some pictures with the gate as our background.

Stephanie, Me, Helena and Greta in front of the Brandenburg Tor.

Soon after departing from the Brandenburg Tor we went looking, yet again, for a place to withdrawal some money. Somehow we ended up at a memorial site for the Jewish people who suffered or were killed in World War II. It was very nice to see that people really do remember what had happened, and it's good that there are so many memorial sites. It was a gorgeous memorial, the idea was strange, but that's what made it interesting.

The Jewish Memorial.

We then went shopping a bit, and still were looking for a place to withdrawal money. On our way we got a little lost, so we stopped at a little courtyard that had some shade and benches. We took out our maps and started looking to see where we were. While waiting we witnessed a German wedding...sort of. After the wedding everyone in the party got in their cars and drove down the street honking their horns! It was very cool. Then we finally found where we were and got moving again.

Finally, after what seemed like ages of searching, we found a place to withdrawal our money! But we didn't spend much of it because we had previously took a few stops for some souvenirs. Then my partner, Greta, got a call from her dad asking to meet him for lunch. So we hailed a taxi! For the first time ever I got into a taxi...it was an interesting experience. My partner couldn't believe I'd never been in a taxi before.

So, we met Greta's dad for lunch in the Sony Center which is located in the Postdammer Platz. He gave us a brief history of the place while we were waiting for our food to arrive from "Alex's". I learned quite a bit of history that day, and I was really glad that my host family has shared so many historical facts with me.

The amazingly cool roof of the Sony Center.

After eating a delicious meal we decided to go to Checkpoint Charlie, which was the crossing point between East and West Berlin. It was really interesting to see such a huge part of history. I still can't believe I got to witness the things I did.

Checkpoint Charlie.


We then left Checkpoint Charlie and found ourselves a place for a boat tour on the river Spree. We got to see some of Germany's cool architecture, and we got beautiful views of the Berlin Dom. My parnters dad then presented Stephanie and I with these really cool books that had articles from Post-War time. It was amazing and so nice! The boat tour was also very interesting, and the ice cream we got on board was delicious.

When our boat tour was done we decided that we should really start heading home. So after making a quick stop at one last building we got in the car and we were on the road once again. We ended up getting back to Greven shortly before 9:00 and we went to the block party Greta's street was having.

Overall my experience in Berlin was amazing. In fact I think I might want to study there after I'm done with High School...we'll see how everything works out. :)