HAMBURG

I don't think my free weekend could have been any better. It started off with our last day in Berlin as we went it the Sachenhausen Concentration Camp. I've never been so emotional on a historical site tour. It's one thing when you learn about the treacherous things people underwent at the camps. It's a completely different story when you place your feet and you are in the actual presence of a place where thousands of people suffered. Understanding their suffering made me count my blessings even more.

Emotions changed when the free weekend began. My uncle picked me up from the Berlin HBF with Kendra, and we drove about 3 hours to Hamburg. After dropping off the Kendra, and dropping off my suitcase at his house, the first thing on the list of things to do was simple: eat of course! We went to a Persian restaurant and took care of my homemade meal cravings. It was SO GOOOD! That night we drove around the city, and being the "cool" uncle that he is, he took me to Reeperbahn, the street with a million strip clubs. A million is an exaggeration, but you get the point. We obviously didn't go in, but I did get to learn the purpose as why it is located where it is, which is because it's right next to the harbor!

After Reeperbahn, I was exhausted, and I rebooted myself with 10 hours of sleep that night. The next day, breakfast was exquisite, with my uncle's famous eggs. And later I was even surprised by my other uncle, whom I thought was Iran. Seeing him was probably the cherry on top to this fantastic weekend, even though it was only for a few hours. That day we completely relaxed, played card games, and cooked a delicious dinner. The following day I was fortunate enough to be able to stay an extra night. I don't know how else to describe it other than it was AMAZING. We explored Hamburg, my uncles old undergrad university, and we did a bit of shopping, but it was more important for me because we did so much bonding. I got some fantastic pictures and surprisingly even learned about the city.

We arrived to Hannover early morning the next day. I didn't think saying goodbye to my uncle would be so hard.

There is one thing I learned about myself this weekend. It may not be related to the German culture, but it's related to my Persian culture regarding family. Nothing in life is worth it without family. Family makes all the difference in the world, and they make life enjoyable. And in the future, when I do begin to travel and explore more, I'll make sure that they are with me. Having a family that provides so much love is hard to find these days, and I am beyond blessed to have mine.