First days in Berlin and Dresden

After sleeping in Sunday morning after a great night, we decided to explore Berlin. We went to a film museum, the Brandenburg Gate, the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe, the Victory Column, and the Berlin Cathedral, got Tex-Mex for dinner and saw In Time in German!

Monday morning was spent walking around Berlin learning about the different buildings and structures and their history. We saw some things we had seen the day before, such as the Brandenburg Gate and the surrounding buildings, the memorial and cathedral, but more of the history came to light, which made them even more interesting. Some of the new places included the Humbolt University, in front of whose steps a book burning took place and Checkpoint Charlie, where the Cold War almost got the closest to being and actual war. Berlin has so much history around every corner you can literally stumble upon it, since an artist started a project of placing memorials of victims of the Holocaust. I was amazed at how we walked for over four hours and saw only part of what Berlin has to offer and only touched on the main points of each. In the afternoon, we visited the Reichstag, the German parliamentary building. It seemed like a contradiction since it seems like an old building from the outside, but from the inside, it is completely modern. I was surprised to see that the large meeting room had a modern feel from the chairs and desks to the glass surroundings and eagle decoration. Every time I picture a room like that, it is always the ones from the United States legislative building which has a historic look.

Tuesday morning, we made our way to Dresden and had a city tour. The city was so beautiful with the Baroque architecture and old look of the Old Town. We learned more of German history, mostly the influence of August the Strong during the reign of the Holy Roman Empire. However, most of the city was destroyed during World War II and was rebuilt after reunification, which gives the buildings a false sense of age. I thought it was impressive that after so many years, Dresdeners still love their city so much that they want to return it to its former glory. Later that day, we went to the Deutsches Hygiene Museum. This was an interesting museum since it many of the exhibits were interactive and covered the history of the different categories of human life, such as motion, sexuality, nutrition and senses. I enjoyed the interactive parts of the exhibits since those are usually the most memorable. There were different games to learn concepts and drawers with images and such so that you are constantly discovering something.

Both Berlin and Dresden seem like wonderful cities with so much history, I wish we had more time!