Em's Week 6: Berlin and Bye!

 I remember making my schedule digitized on Google calendar prior to this trip and thinking, 'Oh wow, by the time I get to Berlin, this trip will have almost ended.' So, when we rolled into the city, I was so eager to see it, the history, the people, the place, but I was also sad that I knew the trip would be coming to an end. 

Berlin lived up to all of my expectations. The food was delicious. The tour I had of the city with Ryan really had the history of Berlin unfold before my eyes. Seeing the book burning memorial made me feel as though I was walking through my history classes. Seeing checkpoint Charlie with my own eyes made me feel as though I entered any cold war movie I grew up watching. Walking through the disorienting Holocaust memorial made me realize how easily these people watched their loved ones disappear. I also learned about the oppression of the gypsies and political opponents of the time, which was new to me! 

Also, the museums we visited were incredible too. Seeing the natural history taxonomic collection was awesome. I've never seen such a collection. The musical history museum was so cool. I grew up playing piano and violin, but to see a man be able to pick up and play any instrument in the museum for us that he would like to play, blew me away. You could tell he put in his 10,000 hours! Lastly, visiting Sachsenhausen will be something I will always remember. It was truly an experience that humbled to my core and made me understand the precious gift of life and our call to protect humanity.

When we had a break, Jenna's mom had asked her why she hadn't seen the Berlin wall covered in art. So, we set out to find the gallery, and walking through the art was amazing. To see something that once stood for oppression now stand for justice and peace was beautiful. Also, I loved getting to see one of the first veterinary anatomical dissection classrooms!

Lastly, spending our last night eating dinner together, passing stories and jokes, and just celebrating was the sweetest way to spend the night. Also, the karaoke bar we went to afterwards was fun too :)