Blogs from Berlin, Berlin, Germany, Europe - page 124

I assumed that the coolest thing about my trip would be meeting Dr. Helmut Kohl tomorrow evening, and listening to him speak about the reunification of Germany, with the Brandenburg Gate in the background. And yes, that will be pretty cool. But today, we also had something cool happen... Yesterday, I found out that Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt is staying at our hotel. Usually, there is someone cool at the hotel (Heidi Klum & Seal, U2), but I NEVER get to see them! So I was impressed by the increased security (more on them later), but didn't take it too seriously. I forgot that I had to sit in the lobby today for six hours, manning (or womanning) the "hospitality desk" for our conference. As a result, I actually got to see President Mubarak ... read more

Our time in Germany has been incredibly moving. There have been moments where I've felt as though we have stepped through a portal back to the terrible wars of the 20th century, discovering for ourselves the horror of their aftermath. But perhaps even more disturbing, are the moments when we've seen little echoes of the past that seem to be repeating.... very very sad. The exploration we began through our visit to Dachau concentration camp has been continued throughout the past week we've spent in Germany's cities. We firstly visited Nuremberg, home to the famous Courtroom 600 where the trials of the WWII war criminals took place in 1945-46. It was during our visit to the famous courtroom itself that we learned of the reasons why Nuremberg was chosen to host this important event. I ... read more

It's my last night in Berlin. Nicholas and I just got back from the concert and he's passed out on the bed. We have to be out of the house by 6 am tomorrow morning. Yuck. But I think it's better that way; I hate day-long goodbyes. It's better to just get up and leave. But the problem is that I really don't want to leave. I do want to see my friends, but I don't want to be back in Besancon or without Nicholas. I'm lucky that I get to see Nicholas every month, but in some ways it's harder. Thinking of going back to the monotony of school and everything makes me really bummed. But soon enough I'll be in Paris with my parents and Nicholas! I am so excited for them to come...only ... read more

I'm sitting here in bed typing while Nicholas sleeps next to me. It's 6:15 pm, and I really should be doing my homework, but instead I've opted to waste time. I guess Nicholas made the same choice, too; I could've sworn 45 minutes ago he was talking about practicing... Today was a beautiful day in Berlin - sunshine and 50 degrees. I had a pretty relaxing day, but I did go out and about for a while to eat some sushi. The food here is one of the main reasons I'm so jealous of Nicholas. There are hardly any ethnic restaurants in Besancon. If you want a sandwhich, walk five feet any which way and you can get one. But sushi and thai food is another story. Tonight I think we're going to go get some ... read more

Howdy! I'm back and refreshed! I was in Germany this past weekend as I have been saying for the last few weeks and it was unexpectedly one of the greatest weekends yet, just in terms of learning about a new place. I went with three girls who I don't usually do too much stuff with, so that was a little exciting! We left late on a Thursday night to spend the night in London Luton Airport (as of now, I've been in all of the London Airports!) We spent the night there, well, technically it only ended up being a couple of hours of sleeping, because we got there so late and we could check in at 4 am. It was the best night I've ever spent in an airport. Basically because I was able to ... read more