Today was a very busy day!
By Sunday, everyone was here so it was our first day with all of us together. Earlier in the day, a few of us went out for coffee (at a cafe called Westberlin - I highly recommend it!) and since it wasn't far from Checkpoint Charlie, we decided to go there, as well. Since it wasn't too far away, we also decided to go see Brandenberg Tor and on our way back, we realized we were passing by Humboldt University!
Around 5 we all finally met up as one group to go over the program and some logistics for the week with Julie, Kathryn, and Manuela. I think that it's safe to say we're all pretty excited about our placements and eager to meet with the organizations and start learning. This a pretty unique and amazing opportunity and again, I think it's safe to say that we have the chance to give back and do work for these organizations in exchange for the experience and all they have to teach us.
The afternoon was HOT (and only got hotter) and sunny when we went on the walking tour. By the end, we were all hiding in the shade and exhausted but it was worth it. Manuela started us out by walking us to the old border between the East and West (where the wall once stood). I especially appreciated her telling us about her own experience walking across from West to East when the Wall was open. (Being American, I am always hyper aware of my ease of mobility and it's hard to fathom not being allowed out of the city I live in. Try to imagine Seattle being divided and either being constrained to the side you had the misfortune to live in when the wall went up or not being allowed to travel across the bridge to see your family!) We also saw the Watch Tower here and again, I'm really glad we had Manuela to talk about the history and add some personal stories about this landmark.
After this, we walked onward along the river and saw the pool in the river (the name is escaping me at the moment but if these heat continues I think we're all going to have to go check it out!) Personally, I was really interested in the use of space here, it felt very much like a community space. Further on, we learned about "The Cheese Man" (I think this is an appropriate name for this sculpture!)
We ended our tour at the Soviet Memorial. I had no idea what to expect, it was a huge, expansive space and really beautiful! I would love to go back here just to sit and spend more time.
Once we were done, we returned to the area around our hostel and several of us got dinner at an amazing Lebanese restaurant (which I plan on going back to several times!) I'm really enjoying the rich diversity of food and restaurants around the hostel and the Lebanese food here was better than anything I've had in the States.
Photos of our day:
By Sunday, everyone was here so it was our first day with all of us together. Earlier in the day, a few of us went out for coffee (at a cafe called Westberlin - I highly recommend it!) and since it wasn't far from Checkpoint Charlie, we decided to go there, as well. Since it wasn't too far away, we also decided to go see Brandenberg Tor and on our way back, we realized we were passing by Humboldt University!
Around 5 we all finally met up as one group to go over the program and some logistics for the week with Julie, Kathryn, and Manuela. I think that it's safe to say we're all pretty excited about our placements and eager to meet with the organizations and start learning. This a pretty unique and amazing opportunity and again, I think it's safe to say that we have the chance to give back and do work for these organizations in exchange for the experience and all they have to teach us.
The afternoon was HOT (and only got hotter) and sunny when we went on the walking tour. By the end, we were all hiding in the shade and exhausted but it was worth it. Manuela started us out by walking us to the old border between the East and West (where the wall once stood). I especially appreciated her telling us about her own experience walking across from West to East when the Wall was open. (Being American, I am always hyper aware of my ease of mobility and it's hard to fathom not being allowed out of the city I live in. Try to imagine Seattle being divided and either being constrained to the side you had the misfortune to live in when the wall went up or not being allowed to travel across the bridge to see your family!) We also saw the Watch Tower here and again, I'm really glad we had Manuela to talk about the history and add some personal stories about this landmark.
After this, we walked onward along the river and saw the pool in the river (the name is escaping me at the moment but if these heat continues I think we're all going to have to go check it out!) Personally, I was really interested in the use of space here, it felt very much like a community space. Further on, we learned about "The Cheese Man" (I think this is an appropriate name for this sculpture!)
We ended our tour at the Soviet Memorial. I had no idea what to expect, it was a huge, expansive space and really beautiful! I would love to go back here just to sit and spend more time.
Once we were done, we returned to the area around our hostel and several of us got dinner at an amazing Lebanese restaurant (which I plan on going back to several times!) I'm really enjoying the rich diversity of food and restaurants around the hostel and the Lebanese food here was better than anything I've had in the States.
Photos of our day:
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