Day 1:
The CES program took our group to Berlin Germany from August 21st- August 23rd. After a 10 hour bus ride, I was anxious to see the city of Berlin. We stayed at the Alexanderplatz Hotel, which was a great hotel in a decent location! We did a walking tour the first day and saw many historical sites such as the Berlin Dom, Museum Island, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the Brandenberg Gate, and the placed where Hitler allegedly killed himself. I highly suggest taking a free walking tour when in Berlin because I would have never known what a lot of the buildings were. Later that day we toured the Reichstag Building which is home to Parliament. This was very interesting to see because the building has a glass ceiling that citizens can look down over to remind Parliament that the power belongs to the people. For dinner that night we kept it simple and got Bockwurst from a food truck and gelato for dessert!
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Day 2:
The next day we visited the Sachsenhausen Concentration camp and Memorial Center. This was a very impactful visit, and I think it is something everyone should do if they have the opportunity. The bunkers we saw were made to hold 170 people, but in reality held 400. The living conditions were heartbreaking. The camp was built to hold 10,000 prisoners but ended up holding 60,000. The gate to enter read "Work sets you free" which was propaganda used by the Nazis to incentivize prisoners to work hard to become free, which never happened. We also saw the remains of Area Z which is where mass killings of prisoners took place. This was very hard to see, but I am happy I had the opportunity to visit this camp. Later in the day we visited the Spy Museum and learned about different techniques used by Germans in WWII to send messages that couldn't be decoded. We also learned about other spying devices from the past and the present (like our phones!)
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Day 3
For our last day in Berlin we visited the Stasi Prison which was a secret prison used for those who disagreed with the Berlin Wall and disobeyed the government. The guards used psychological torture not the prisoners by never letting the prisoners see or communicate with others, only being allowed to sleep on their backs, always having the lights on in their cells, and never being able to sit down during the day. This was a really interesting prison to visit, and if you're lucky you can get a former prisoner as your tour guide! Later on we visited the East-Side Gallery which is an outdoor gallery of murals painted on the remains of the Berlin Wall! This was my absolute favorite part of Berlin and a must-see if you have the opportunity to go! For dinner we went to the Hofbrau House. There was live music, tons of beer, and the waiters dressed in traditional Bavarian clothes like dirndls and lederhosen. It was so much fun to eat a classic German meal (I had chicken fillet with Spätzle) and listen to the live music! It was a great atmosphere and perfect end to our trip.