Hello Hello!!!

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Hello Hello!!!

Well I've been living in Berlin for two weeks, and I think that the easiest way to keep tabs on me is to start this blog... this is for you, Mom and Dad!

We are having a very good time here. Berlin is very different from any city that I've been to in the U.S. They are extremely eco friendly here. Gas is about 9 American Dollars a gallon here (I still have yet to see a gas station), so many people cannot afford to have cars. I probably almost get run over a bicycler every day. People in business clothes, riders with three kids strapped to their bike, and etc. Many families have moved to Berlin because the public transportation is so good and they can't afford to have a car.

Berlin is also under a lot of construction. Every where we go, there are many buildings that are being renovated or rebuilt, I hope that I can make it back here in ten years to see what happens.

Next week I will add pictures to my blogs and catch you up and where exactly I have visited so far - Potsdam (prussian castles), and the different buildings, places, and museums around Berlin.

The School work is pretty hefty. I'm in two classes while in Germany. We have alot of reading and specific places where we have to go outside of class, so It's hard to go and see other things. I do get to run a lot, so that is very good. Yesterday, my friend and I ran to a park, got insanely lost, and ended up running for about an hour. We got back just in the nick of time to shower quickly and get to class. Classes are about a 30 hour joint walk-bus ride from our hostel. We have one Augie History Professor that is very good. We have a German teacher for world Literature, who is very... interesting. She wore the same shirt for 6 days in the last 2 weeks. If you start to explain a symbol or your feelings on something, she might just shut you down and say "no thats wrong" and move onto the next person. We aren't used to that kind of teaching so we all just laugh it off, but its pretty funny when it happens.

We are leaving for prague tonight - there are about 12 of us going. We are taking a bus that leaves around midnight tonight, getting there at 5 AM, and hanging out around Prague all day. We have a hostel booked for Friday night, and then Katie, Jaimie and I are coming back Saturday night at midnight so we can have Sunday in Berlin. We were suppose to go to Poland but the tickets were too expensive. We will go to POland during a weekend in London.

I will post more things that I have already done as soon as I can. I will also post pictures from Prague on Sunday!!!!

Miss you!!!! Talk to you all soon!!!
Susan

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Photos

Amsterdam Bathrooms
The complete glass walls of a bathroom in amsterdam... kind of awkward.

Welcome Dinner
Our Program started on Saturday and we were greated with champagne!!!

First night out!!
Our exciting trip around the block we live on, trying to find a little bit of night life.

Check Point Charlie
The American sector of Berlin before Unification. This is the section that U.S. Citizens would cross into East Berlin. It now has a museum that represents all of the wall crossings for Berlin, but Germans actually crossed at different sections.

Berlin Walll
A remaining section of the Berlin Wall

Jewish Holocaust Memorial
This is just a view from the bus of the Jewish Holocaust Memorial. It is all these different sized boulders. The edges of the block start at the street level and in the middle, the stones are 15 feet high. It is supose to represent whatever it makes the view feel. It's really unique, but Im still not sure if it does it justice.

President's House
This is where the President lives...

The Budgestag/Reichstag
This is where the lower house of Parliament is seated. I went all the way to the top of that dome on the top of it. It has one of the best views around - those pictures will be up soon :)

Graffiti building
Graffiti is absolutely everywhere in Berlin. It is the most graffitied city in Europe. This building was held be squaters for a very long time, when the govt wanted to demolish it, they called squaters law on them. So right now it is a museum for graffitti but the government plans to renovate it soon.

The Opera Building
Where the city operas are held... in traditional clothing

Princess's Palace
this was a very famous street, many prussian royalty families built houses here, This was the Princesses palace. Apparently a good place to stop by and order tea and cakes in the afternoon.

St Mary's Cathedral
An 800 year old church in Berlin

Saving Jewish Husbands
In Berlin, there was a group of women that were non Jewish and married to Jewish men. These women were able to stand by their men and keep them safe. When day the SS came for all of these men... the women came out and protested and actually won. This monument represents the women fighting for their husbands.

Raining
We were on a walking tour and it started to rain :(

The Fire Man
We went on a pub crawl in Berlin. This was part of the entertainment, this guy loved fire and juggled it... dropped it a lot, but it was fun nonetheless

Susan and Vanessa!
Whats traveling without good friends? Vanessa and I were roommates last year and we're also roommates in Europe.

St. Mary's
Another picture of St. Mary's

St. marys
We're in front of the giant doors of St. Mary's, across the street from Alexanderplatz

Comments

[Phyllis Nelson]

Hey Dudan, Love the blog!

[Mom & Dad]

Love you & enjoy the blog
Hi Dewz, glad the trip is going so well! It's definitely a trip of a lifetime. The whole family if reading the blog. Be safe, and keep well.