We all headed to the Metro Station and took it to the main train station in Prague. The station really looked like an abandoned airport (I wish I had a picture of it for you). We power-walked to the platform and had about 5 minutes to spare before the train pulled up to the station.
The ride to Berlin was pretty uneventful - I slept for about 3 hours of it.
The train (L-R: Nancy and Scott)Once I woke up, I was amazed at how much the countryside reminded me of home. The trees and fields and blue sky really could be in rural North Carolina. Except for the wind-farms, which pop up pretty regularly against the skyline. The windmills themselves are beautiful – tall, white and very sleek.
We passed through Dresden on the way into Berlin. It was the first big German city that we went through. I was surprised at the amount of modernist buildings that we saw - but then again, I wasn't. The firebombing of Dresden must have destroyed most of the 18th-century architecture that I'm so used to seeing in Prague.
Once we got to Berlin, we got lost. Not even kidding. We got off at the wrong stop (even though David and Stewart, who read a good bit of a Berlin guidebook before we arrived, kept mentioning that we really should get off). The place that we got off ended up being a giant mall, so a bunch of us went in to use the bathroom and get some Euros from the ATM. However, in the mall I had my first German dog sighting – a Westie! I definitely took it as a good sign.
Our tram stop in Berlin. A little scary.It took a while to figure out how to get to the hostel that we were staying at, but once we did, it was worth it. The area that the hostel was in seriously could have been in Disneyworld. It was right beside a park, had a cobblestone street, and a bar on the corner with a red striped awning. BUT–
There always is a but, isn't there? All the girls in the program had to stay in one room together. 10 girls. In one room. A room about the size of, say, the kitchen in my apartment. Thankfully the beds were bunk-beds, but it was still pretty....intimate.
After we got settled (it was 4 pm by now) we went to the bar on the corner for dinner, which happened to be owned and run by the same people who ran our hostel. I decided on fish and chips, and pretty much everyone else ordered a cheeseburger. The food was AMAZING. And all the boys bought their first German beers, which were pretty great too :)
Once dinner settled, our group (minus two girls that decided to miss the group meeting to go shopping) went out to see the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag Building.
The Brandenburg Gate
The Reichstag Building
Walking up to the building (L-R: Rich, Ben, David, Ashley and Maura)Needless to say, it was pretty cool. And I am SO happy with my pictures – I did all the settings myself (!) and think the results are pretty sweet. I think I actually got something out of the photography class!
Rich
Stewart on his 21st Birthday
German Sunset
Susan
Ben
Jessica
Nida
Statue on top of the Reichstag
Scott
This is actually a ventilation system for the building, but I prefer to call it the Laser Beam
Photo of what the Reichstag Building looked like after World War IIAfter we got tired of walking around, we hopped on the Tram and headed back to the neighborhood that our hostel was in. We decided to grab some dinner (for the people who didn't eat earlier) and drinks, because it was Stewart's 21st Birthday!!!!!
Buying a round of German Beer
Guys (L-R: Ben, Mark, David and Scott)It was a lot of fun....obviously.
We got soo lost on the way back to the hostel – mainly because the people leading the group didn't really listen to everyone who was telling them that we really should turn here. We ended up getting back at around 2 in the morning.
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