Honestly, leaving Bonn for the last time felt unreal. When I thought of the fact that I may never visit that place again, for as long as I live, it felt almost untrue, like something that could occur in a dream. That place had been my home for more than a month, a safe heaven where I could rest and receive a hot meal after early mornings and lengthy excursions. Saying goodbye at the train station, as a result, was strange. It wasn't emotionally devastating, mind you, but it did feel strange, like leaving a terminally ill friend in the hospital not knowing when you'll see them alive again. A grim comparison, I know, but one of the same feeling.
Berlin, however, turned out to be a brand new adventure that I couldn't have predicted the turnout. Initially dreading the bicycle tour, I found it immensely enjoyable and interesting. We traveled to places that almost oozed history; buildings where the Nazis held parades and speeches that were still littered with bullet holes, monuments of old that commemorated heroic deeds and condemned the evil ones, and saw the freaking Berlin Wall for crying out loud! Never before had I been to a place where history seemed to resonate so severely within the present, actively driving and molding it into what it is. That may sound stupid, but anyone who has been to Berlin probably understands what I'm talking about. The Reichstag in particular was very powerful, as it served as a symbol for a great evil and a great good in terms of uniformity.
I greatly look forward to the rest of the week in Berlin, and can't wait to visit all the other sites for the program.
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