GENIE: I had no idea

My first impression of Berlin was one of awe. I had been to Munich before, but Berlin seemed so much bigger. Begin lost for the first hour didn’t make that feeling diminish. The hostel was interesting, but sharing a room with five other girls was something new and somewhat uncomfortable for me; I enjoy my alone time. The first day there however, was quite fun. We went to the Berliner Mauer and Reichstag, then walked down to the “Golden Girl”, which is a tall tower-like structure with a large golden statue of a woman at the top.

The experience was very relaxing, as for a good part of the walk we were in a park area. Chris and I later wandered around the city, looking at the buildings. It was thrilling to be in a city that had such old and unique buildings. I’m fascinated with Gothic style architecture, so being in such a grand city with such amazing history was thrilling for me.

One day, we went to Checkpoint Charlie and visited the museum. It was a lot for me to take in. I had no idea how bad life had been back there. It seems like American schools sanitize the history of Germany, so the experience was, though educational and interesting, very emotionally exhausting for me.

A favorite trip of mine was the one we made to Potsdam. It’s one of the most popular and expensive cities in Germany. The tour guide, Herr Kevin Kennedy, took us through the city to places of importance in history. I was enraptured by the bizarre stories we were told of how the children, women and military men used to be treated. I also learned that Berlin and Potsdam were build on swamp and marsh land, which completely changed the way I viewed the city.

The last day there yielded a wonderful afternoon. Annabelle, Chris, Kendall and I went to the beach (of a lake). It was a unique experience as it was unlike any beach you would find in America. There were maybe two life guards far back from the water, while several hundred people occupied the sand and water. There was also a slide out in the deep water where you couldn’t touch the bottom with your toes if you tried. The steps were steep and when you went down the slide you ended up hauling booty. It just amazed me that there was no safety regulation, no one making you wait until the person before you had gotten out of the way, and no safety lines to keep you from swimming under the mini-dock. It made me think people in America are more mature or something, because in America someone would flip out about nobody being there to monitor or some moron would goof off and get hurt or someone killed.

Over all, I thoroughly enjoyed Berlin, but I think it is too big of a city for me. I need a little bit of country to balance out the city. And the smell, hahaha.