Week of 24.01.2011
On Sunday, some friends and I hiked throughout the Black Forest. It was absolutely spectacular! Many families were taking advantage of the crisp, beautiful weather. We stumbled upon a viewing tower that overlooked all of Freiburg. From the post we could see our dorm location, the stadium, the Munster Cathedral, and other major Freiburg sites. That evening I attended mass at the Munster Cathedral. I enjoyed haphazardly singing the hymns in German and tried very hard to understand the sermon. Unfortunately the only thing I could understand was amen and a few other words.
Early Monday morning was the beginning of the Berlin and Prague field study trip. As soon as we arrived at our hostel in Berlin and set down our luggage, we hit the streets for a city walk focusing on the post-war history. Our trip included Check Point Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the sight of Hitler’s death, several communist buildings, and the Jewish Memorial. Our next two days in Berlin I was able to visit the Reichstag, World Time Clock, Aqua dome, Berlin Zoo, Topography Museum of Terror, the Jewish Memorial Museum, Wilhelm Memorial Church, Lego Land, the former prison of the GDR ‘Stasi’, and more. There was so much to see and do! My favorite time in Berlin was enjoying kaffee and kuchen at the Opernpalais. The Opernpalais is a very nice café with the longest dessert bar in Europe (thank you Rick Steeves for the suggestion). They have over 50 cakes to choose from, including a chocolate mousse torte (it was very, very good!).
Berlin is definitely a place worth visiting. The grand scale of buildings (new and old), the history of the East and West under communism and socialism, and the reconstruction of a city in 20 years amazed me. Berlin is less expensive to live in than Freiburg, Munich, Hamburg, and other larger cities in Germany, so many students and artists populate Berlin. It is also very international- English is widely spoken and you see Vietnamese, Singaporean, Turkish, Italian, Mexican, and Portuguese restaurants within several blocks of each other. I enjoyed Berlin, but it was also a little depressing and eerily quiet after 9:00 pm.
Early Thursday we left Berlin main station for Prague. Once again we had a city walk with a focus on the Communist Era and architecture. As soon as our tour finished, we ate a typical Czech meal and grabbed a show at the Smetana concert hall. I had a wonderful time at the Smetana concert hall with several friends. We were entertained for about 2 ½ by the renounced Czech orchestra and famous pianist. It was an incredible show!
After seeing the devastation of Berlin in certain areas I was amazed that Prague had so many beautiful old, restored buildings that date back to the 17th and 18th century. I honestly don’t know much about Prague, but we made the most of our short 1½ days there. The Prague Castle offered a wonderful “short visit” to four buildings, including a gothic cathedral and old church that dates back to 937. The castle overlooked the Charles Bridge and city buildings of Prague. What a sight! I bought two paintings to help me remember how beautiful and spectacular Prague is. I actually felt cheated that I bought a copy of painting, even after I haggled 70% off the original price. So, I went back to a small gallery near the Charles Bridge and bought an original, small work of a Ukrainian artist who resides in Prague. His work is spectacular. I’m very excited to hang them both in my white room; it will be more colorful!
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