Berlin

My expectations for Berlin were much different than what I actually experienced. I had heard that Berlin was a very industrial city, so it came as something of a surprise to see such an exciting and beautiful city.

The first afternoon in Berlin we went to a Christmas market. We got to try the German drink Glühwein, which is an interesting spiced, hot wine. We saw the Emperor William Memorial Church, which is a church built to honor Emperor William I. The church was destroyed during the air bombings of WW2, but later restored.

The next day in Berlin, we toured the city by bus. On the tour we saw historically signifcant landmarks in Berlin such as the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, the Rathaus Schöneberg, and the memorial dedicted to the Jewish victims of WW2. My favorite part of the tour was the East Side Gallery. It is a section of the Berlin Wall that was not torned down. The wall is decorated with paintings that celebrate the unity of Berlin and the freedom of the East side.