Happy Halloween!!! Oh my goodness how I miss the random and commercialized festivities of the Halloween holiday in the states... corn mazes and haunted houses, pumpkin carving, costume designing, and excessive candy eating. Actually, they are starting to get into it here. We actually had two girls come to our apartment trick-or-treating, or "Susser oder Sauer", but before that Kara and I had somewhat consoled ourselves by acting out the trick-or-treat procession with Pika as the door woman and Kara was Batman (don't ask me why she happened to bring a batman mask to Europe...) and I was a ghost... for lack of time to come up with something more creative. There actually was a party going on tonight at the school, but I am going on a day trip tomorrow early in the morning with some classmates so I decided against it. The party tonight was in celebration for "Berg Fest" which literally translates to "Mountain Party" but this is in reference to the 'hump' of being at the Goethe Institute and not the geographic feature; we are half done with our classes, which is a crazy thought.
Yesterday (Thursday), my class went on a day trip to a town called Celle. It was fun to have our teacher as our tour guide, as he was born in Celle. We went to a museum that showed medieval life in Germany, like farming and other trades, daily life, clothing, etc. And then we went to the Schloss (castle) in Celle that housed the royal family of Neidersachsen (a state in Germany) beginning in the 1500's. Also among our sight-seeing was a cathedral from around 1300. It was so old and very beautiful and intricate. The frescos lining all the walls were beautiful old and new testament scenes. We also went down to the catacombs below the church where all the royalty and their families from 1500 to 1700 are buried.... yeah pretty creepy and claustrophobic. It didn't smell too good either- Carrie kept threatening to pass out :) We also ate at this awesome classic German food restaurant/pub where my teacher proceeded to order a drink that I can't remember the name of, but that was essentially 1 part beer to 1 part Sprite. It was hilarious to me for some reason. I dunno I guess just because a teacher would never really drink in front of his class in the states (correct me if I am wrong, I have been living in Utah for a while now...), but beer is such a part of the culture here that it wasn't even considered weird. Anyway, we had a really fun day as a class.
I got home relatively late but Pato was here! Pika looked 10 years younger... than even her normal 10 years younger... so she looked like she was.... 20. Anyway, they both left today for Hamburg to see Lion King- on stage- in German.
Janet and Mom are getting back tonight from the travels to Berlin, Nuernberg, Eichstaett, Dresden, and Freiberg.
Happy Halloween! Enjoy it for me!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Weimar and Buchanwald
Hallo from Deutschland! This past week has been good- Kara and Michele got back from a two-week trip to Hamburg, Copenhagen, and Stockholm on Friday and it is is so good to have them back! Mom's friend Janet arrived yesterday and now she, Mom, and Pika left after church today to go to Berlin, Nuernberg, Dresden, Freiberg, Eichstatt. Janet's dad designed the Freiberg Temple and she has never seen it. I can't believe Pika is still alive with all the consecutive traveling she has been doing!
School for me has been going really well. I have been meeting some really cool people. In my class (there are 14 of us) Carrie, an opera singer from Michigan has become a really good friend, along with Stephen who is an engineer from New Zealand. There is also John who (who actually isn't in my class, but in another similar level class) just graduated from Princeton with a B.S. in English and is starting his PhD at Harvard- he has been a super good resource for me to talk to about some good authors to read and what to do with an English major. Mohamood, a civic engineer from Oman has been fascinating to talk to about politics with. Sorry- I feel like I am introducing all the characters in a play in this paragraph. It's just because I expect to refer to them a lot from now on and so I want you to all know who I am talking about.
Anyway, yesterday, we took a trip to a town called Weimar, about a 2 1/2 hour bus ride away- the whole school, not just my class. It is famous for being the residence of Schiller, Goethe, and Liszt, at least for part of their lives. We took a tour and then had some free time, where John and I got pear and vanilla sauce crepes (Birne & Vanillesosse) while Carrie and Stephen got bratwurst. They had a whole market set up in the main square with food, jewelry, and flower vendors. We also visited some churches, ruins, and parks. My camera battery died so I don't have any pictures, but Carrie promised to e-mail me some.
After that, we all hopped back on the bus and drove 7 km to Buchanwald, a concentration camp, or KZ. It feels weird to talk about what is was like. We all learn about WWII and the horrors of the concentration camps in school. But to actually be there, seeing the ovens in the crematorium in front of my eyes and imagining smoke coming from the tall brick chimney was... uncomfortably vivid. Inside the museum, I saw artifacts of inmates- blue and white striped uniforms, colored fabric triangles each inmate wore to represent their crime or identity, remains of completely worn leather shoes- evidence that this whole thing was not just a horrible dream but really happened. Most eye-opening and memorable to me was being just outside the camp- the whole camp was surrounded by thick woods with gorgeous autumnal-colored leaves. When the U.S. soldiers came to liberate Buchanwald in April of 1945, the were horrified by the sight of hundreds of dead bodies piled up outside the crematorium- the holding cellars couldn't hold anymore. The soldiers then forced all the citizens of Weimar to walk through the camp and witness the death and suffering. Though it was but 7 km from their town, they said that they had no idea of the horrors that lay within. Even after liberation though, hundreds more died due to lack of food and health care in time. Mass graves were dug there right outside the camp among the dense trees. In 1995, they dedicated that area of the woods as a graveyard and marked every grave, each containing 5-6 bodies, with a steel pole about 6 ft. tall and having about a 4 in. radius. I wish I could share the image with each of you. I looked out as far as I could see in the woods at the gorgeous tall trees, with these steel poles littering the sight about every 4 feet. Hundreds of wood trees, hundreds of steel trees; representing thousands of souls resting there, below the red and orange leave-covered ground. I just stood there, for the first time being able to get some sort of small grasp for how many people died, at least in Buchanwald alone, which apparently was the best of the concentration camps. Wow, I am emotionally exhausted just trying to recount it. Sorry. But I don't want to end on this depressing note.
Before Mom and Janet and Michele left today, we had a small birthday celebration for Mom. Pika set up a really cute Birthday display for Mom on the table and made delicious German pancakes for brunch. She and Dad got Mom a beautiful wooden statue of the Gaenselisel, and Janet gave Mom a really pretty watch, amongst some other things. She also liked the scarf I gave her.
This past week we went over to the branch president's house for dinner and his wife Julia made a really yummy meal where there was a grill thingy in the middle of the table and you just put food on a little tray on the grill and cook whatever you want, from the spread of chicken, potatoes, veggies, and cheese. They are super nice and we had fun bonding with them. I am growing to love our cute little branch here. They are so kind and service oriented. We have stake conference next week. Ok, well yay for daylight savings time here so I have an extra hour to sleep, otherwise, I would be going to bed very late :) Ich liebe euch!
School for me has been going really well. I have been meeting some really cool people. In my class (there are 14 of us) Carrie, an opera singer from Michigan has become a really good friend, along with Stephen who is an engineer from New Zealand. There is also John who (who actually isn't in my class, but in another similar level class) just graduated from Princeton with a B.S. in English and is starting his PhD at Harvard- he has been a super good resource for me to talk to about some good authors to read and what to do with an English major. Mohamood, a civic engineer from Oman has been fascinating to talk to about politics with. Sorry- I feel like I am introducing all the characters in a play in this paragraph. It's just because I expect to refer to them a lot from now on and so I want you to all know who I am talking about.
Anyway, yesterday, we took a trip to a town called Weimar, about a 2 1/2 hour bus ride away- the whole school, not just my class. It is famous for being the residence of Schiller, Goethe, and Liszt, at least for part of their lives. We took a tour and then had some free time, where John and I got pear and vanilla sauce crepes (Birne & Vanillesosse) while Carrie and Stephen got bratwurst. They had a whole market set up in the main square with food, jewelry, and flower vendors. We also visited some churches, ruins, and parks. My camera battery died so I don't have any pictures, but Carrie promised to e-mail me some.
After that, we all hopped back on the bus and drove 7 km to Buchanwald, a concentration camp, or KZ. It feels weird to talk about what is was like. We all learn about WWII and the horrors of the concentration camps in school. But to actually be there, seeing the ovens in the crematorium in front of my eyes and imagining smoke coming from the tall brick chimney was... uncomfortably vivid. Inside the museum, I saw artifacts of inmates- blue and white striped uniforms, colored fabric triangles each inmate wore to represent their crime or identity, remains of completely worn leather shoes- evidence that this whole thing was not just a horrible dream but really happened. Most eye-opening and memorable to me was being just outside the camp- the whole camp was surrounded by thick woods with gorgeous autumnal-colored leaves. When the U.S. soldiers came to liberate Buchanwald in April of 1945, the were horrified by the sight of hundreds of dead bodies piled up outside the crematorium- the holding cellars couldn't hold anymore. The soldiers then forced all the citizens of Weimar to walk through the camp and witness the death and suffering. Though it was but 7 km from their town, they said that they had no idea of the horrors that lay within. Even after liberation though, hundreds more died due to lack of food and health care in time. Mass graves were dug there right outside the camp among the dense trees. In 1995, they dedicated that area of the woods as a graveyard and marked every grave, each containing 5-6 bodies, with a steel pole about 6 ft. tall and having about a 4 in. radius. I wish I could share the image with each of you. I looked out as far as I could see in the woods at the gorgeous tall trees, with these steel poles littering the sight about every 4 feet. Hundreds of wood trees, hundreds of steel trees; representing thousands of souls resting there, below the red and orange leave-covered ground. I just stood there, for the first time being able to get some sort of small grasp for how many people died, at least in Buchanwald alone, which apparently was the best of the concentration camps. Wow, I am emotionally exhausted just trying to recount it. Sorry. But I don't want to end on this depressing note.
Before Mom and Janet and Michele left today, we had a small birthday celebration for Mom. Pika set up a really cute Birthday display for Mom on the table and made delicious German pancakes for brunch. She and Dad got Mom a beautiful wooden statue of the Gaenselisel, and Janet gave Mom a really pretty watch, amongst some other things. She also liked the scarf I gave her.
This past week we went over to the branch president's house for dinner and his wife Julia made a really yummy meal where there was a grill thingy in the middle of the table and you just put food on a little tray on the grill and cook whatever you want, from the spread of chicken, potatoes, veggies, and cheese. They are super nice and we had fun bonding with them. I am growing to love our cute little branch here. They are so kind and service oriented. We have stake conference next week. Ok, well yay for daylight savings time here so I have an extra hour to sleep, otherwise, I would be going to bed very late :) Ich liebe euch!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Dresden: City of Dreams
So sorry about the cheesy title, but most of you know my love of alliteration....
On Monday night 2 week ago, we were all at the old Rathaus at a string quartet concert for Michele's birthday when Pika randomly let me know that she wanted to go visit Summit (past Brighton staff) who was serving her mission in Dresden and then go to the Freiberg Temple. I told her that I really wanted to go with her, as it has been a while since I have made it to the temple and I have been longing to go. Pika then was amazing and figured out trains and places to stay and found out Summit's address with Pato's help to track down her mom's phone number.
I woke up on the day of planned departure (Friday the 10th) feeling really sick, but I slept a little and took some drugs and then we left around noon. We were trying to make it to the Temple in time for the 7 O'clock session, so we took the fastest train option, which got us there around 6, but which also meant 4 train transfers. Let's just say it wasn't the most relaxing traveling I've ever done, but Pika had packed yummy food for the way and we talked the whole time.
We hurried to our little bed and breakfast to change and then made it to the temple with about 2 minutes to spare, which we quickly used by tearing up at the sight of the beautiful and miraculously historic temple (the first temple built in East Germany, and incredibly, during DDR times) that we we had traveled for what felt like so long to go to. It gave me a whole new appreciation for sacrificing for your beliefs. It was only a small taste of what so many people have to go through and sacrifice to get to the temple, but it felt so much more... special being there, to be able to sacrifice in our own small way to be able to get there. I ran off to do baptisms while Pika ran off to do endowments, but the people there were so nice and took special care to make sure I had everything I needed, though carefully only talking to me in German, as the Temple president was an English teacher for German students, and upon finding out I was studying German here, wanted to help me and made me promise to try to speak in German as much as possible during my time here, even when English is available. There was a Romanian group there and so everything was done in German, with some people translating into Romanian. I actually was baptized in English because there was a young man there who was from Chicago but had served his mission in Romania and then I think come back and married a Romanian girl and then they had all traveled from a branch in Romania. And he was the one baptizing me and only knew English or Romanian. The temple president talked to us before we started about the worth of souls in the sight of God. Before hand, he had asked me if I was a seminary graduate and if I knew the scriptures. I said I was (how embarrassing would that have been if I was from Utah county and couldn't say I had completed seminary. I was inexplicably grateful to be able to answer him that I did know the scriptures.) And so he quoted D&C 18:10 in German and asked me to recite the English translation, though it was more like, "the worth of souls is wonderful in the sight of the Lord" in German. Afterwards, the cute temple worker ladies took special concern to make sure all of us girls had enough time to blow dry our hair. It is this funny superstition to Germans that YOU WILL catch cold if you go outside with wet hair. Which actually, I could see being very true in the cold weather here, where it is always so humid and so it's not like Utah where my hair dries relatively fast. Anyway, afterwards, it was nice to have some time to sit and ponder in the temple while I waited for Pika to finish. Pika and I walked home through the sleepy town of Freiberg- it seriously almost felt like a ghost town because NO ONE is out after 8 pm- I was told that the missionaries who serve there always do there scripture and language study after 8 pm instead of in the morning because no one wants to make appointments after then. Anyway, we got home and stayed up until 2 am talking....
The next morning we thankfully slept in and then caught a train to Dresden. When we stepped off the train, it was like magic. It was seriously such a beautiful and diverse city. Not as big as Berlin (obviously) but still quite large. It had this great trax-like system and an amazing Fussganger zone (only peds and bikes allowed) with tons of great stores and cafes. Pika and I did some shopping and then as it started to get dark, we headed toward the old part of the city. I wish I could depict the sight of walking into the town center as the sky was getting completely dark. It was better than Paris or any other place I could imagine up in my head. There were lights strung across the tops pf buildings, forming a canopy of glow over the street lined with cafes and wandering musicians. It was so alive- I have never been to another German city that is still so living and breathing at 8:30 pm. People were eating, talking, laughing, strolling, entertaining, and observing. There along the Elbe River was a wall you could walk along and trace the river on you left side, and the cathedrals and downtown on your right. It barely seemed out of place when a guy dressed in a really authentic 18th century nobleman's wig and costume walked past us and on down the street, while turning the corner and seeing emo flame throwers. It was all so unique and varied from street corner to corner, yet amazingly flowing and fitting. We tried to take a picture, but it just doesn't come near to doing it justice. Anyway, Pika and I pretty much just wandered around with our mouths open, until we realized that we needed to start walking towards the sister missionaries' apartment if we were going to catch them. WE got there right at 9:30 pm, after pausing to pray when we were so close but couldn't find their building number. The Lord answered our prayers with a man who walked by just then and pointed us in the right direction. Sure enough, the doorbell said "Missionaire" and we rang. We asked if a "Summit" lived there, and one came bounding down the stairs to open the door in delicious shock and excitement (she had no idea we were coming or that we were even in Europe). It was so good to visit with her and meet her way cute companion (Sister Parker from Alpine, UT). Ok, now I am going to skip a lot of story because it would go on way too long and it's too close to my heart to not give it enough explanation, so for now I will skip to Sunday. We went to the Dresden Ward, which was huge! I mean, compared to our 20 people Goettingen branch. It felt like being at home in Utah. The people were so strong and confident in the gospel and all so friendly. We met two women- sisters- who were on a mission there- they were both well into their sixties and widowed within a few months of each other and wanted to serve a mission together. They were adorable and really cool- they didn't speak a word of German before they got there either, and only knew what they had started to pick up there. Pika had a miraculous answer to prayer with running into someone she knew there, but I will let her tell that story. And then skipping a lot of other detail and events, we found ourselves back on the train home. This was complicated a bit when one of our trains was three minutes late, which resulted in us missing our next transfer. This equated to us not getting home at 11pm Sunday night as planned, but at 3:30 am Monday morning. One of our train transfers had us stop at this tiny town no one has ever heard of. The only way I can think to describe it is to compare it to that tiny train stop in the movie "Fiddler on the Roof" where the Tevye waits with his daughter as she goes off to Siberia or something. We stepped off the train into this god-forsaken (as I referred to it at the time), cloud covered, desolate town. I kind of felt like I was in Siberia actually because the fog and penetrating damp cold and lack of any one or anything alive around. Admittedly, it was one in the morning, but, still. There was no place indoors to wait, so Pika and plunked down on a self- plastic-bag covered bench to wait out the hour and a half we had before our next train came. The time passed quickly however, as Pika and I told me of her adventures living in Germany back in college. And we arrived on the doorstep of our beloved Goettingen apartment at 4 am, Monday morning.
I wish I could tell you more of the miracles and adventures and tender mercies and answers to prayers Sister Pika and Sister Wren experienced that weekend in Dresden, but I feel bad for how long this is already. It has been a long week for me since then. But I will never forget the trip to Dresden and the things I learned. Thank you for all those who have had me in your prayers and thoughts- I have felt them so much. I miss you all excruciatingly. I will have to tell you all about how my classes at the Goethe Institute are going and the people I have met there, and maybe about my emotional and spiritual journey these past few days, but I will spare you for today. God be with you,
Emily
On Monday night 2 week ago, we were all at the old Rathaus at a string quartet concert for Michele's birthday when Pika randomly let me know that she wanted to go visit Summit (past Brighton staff) who was serving her mission in Dresden and then go to the Freiberg Temple. I told her that I really wanted to go with her, as it has been a while since I have made it to the temple and I have been longing to go. Pika then was amazing and figured out trains and places to stay and found out Summit's address with Pato's help to track down her mom's phone number.
I woke up on the day of planned departure (Friday the 10th) feeling really sick, but I slept a little and took some drugs and then we left around noon. We were trying to make it to the Temple in time for the 7 O'clock session, so we took the fastest train option, which got us there around 6, but which also meant 4 train transfers. Let's just say it wasn't the most relaxing traveling I've ever done, but Pika had packed yummy food for the way and we talked the whole time.
We hurried to our little bed and breakfast to change and then made it to the temple with about 2 minutes to spare, which we quickly used by tearing up at the sight of the beautiful and miraculously historic temple (the first temple built in East Germany, and incredibly, during DDR times) that we we had traveled for what felt like so long to go to. It gave me a whole new appreciation for sacrificing for your beliefs. It was only a small taste of what so many people have to go through and sacrifice to get to the temple, but it felt so much more... special being there, to be able to sacrifice in our own small way to be able to get there. I ran off to do baptisms while Pika ran off to do endowments, but the people there were so nice and took special care to make sure I had everything I needed, though carefully only talking to me in German, as the Temple president was an English teacher for German students, and upon finding out I was studying German here, wanted to help me and made me promise to try to speak in German as much as possible during my time here, even when English is available. There was a Romanian group there and so everything was done in German, with some people translating into Romanian. I actually was baptized in English because there was a young man there who was from Chicago but had served his mission in Romania and then I think come back and married a Romanian girl and then they had all traveled from a branch in Romania. And he was the one baptizing me and only knew English or Romanian. The temple president talked to us before we started about the worth of souls in the sight of God. Before hand, he had asked me if I was a seminary graduate and if I knew the scriptures. I said I was (how embarrassing would that have been if I was from Utah county and couldn't say I had completed seminary. I was inexplicably grateful to be able to answer him that I did know the scriptures.) And so he quoted D&C 18:10 in German and asked me to recite the English translation, though it was more like, "the worth of souls is wonderful in the sight of the Lord" in German. Afterwards, the cute temple worker ladies took special concern to make sure all of us girls had enough time to blow dry our hair. It is this funny superstition to Germans that YOU WILL catch cold if you go outside with wet hair. Which actually, I could see being very true in the cold weather here, where it is always so humid and so it's not like Utah where my hair dries relatively fast. Anyway, afterwards, it was nice to have some time to sit and ponder in the temple while I waited for Pika to finish. Pika and I walked home through the sleepy town of Freiberg- it seriously almost felt like a ghost town because NO ONE is out after 8 pm- I was told that the missionaries who serve there always do there scripture and language study after 8 pm instead of in the morning because no one wants to make appointments after then. Anyway, we got home and stayed up until 2 am talking....
The next morning we thankfully slept in and then caught a train to Dresden. When we stepped off the train, it was like magic. It was seriously such a beautiful and diverse city. Not as big as Berlin (obviously) but still quite large. It had this great trax-like system and an amazing Fussganger zone (only peds and bikes allowed) with tons of great stores and cafes. Pika and I did some shopping and then as it started to get dark, we headed toward the old part of the city. I wish I could depict the sight of walking into the town center as the sky was getting completely dark. It was better than Paris or any other place I could imagine up in my head. There were lights strung across the tops pf buildings, forming a canopy of glow over the street lined with cafes and wandering musicians. It was so alive- I have never been to another German city that is still so living and breathing at 8:30 pm. People were eating, talking, laughing, strolling, entertaining, and observing. There along the Elbe River was a wall you could walk along and trace the river on you left side, and the cathedrals and downtown on your right. It barely seemed out of place when a guy dressed in a really authentic 18th century nobleman's wig and costume walked past us and on down the street, while turning the corner and seeing emo flame throwers. It was all so unique and varied from street corner to corner, yet amazingly flowing and fitting. We tried to take a picture, but it just doesn't come near to doing it justice. Anyway, Pika and I pretty much just wandered around with our mouths open, until we realized that we needed to start walking towards the sister missionaries' apartment if we were going to catch them. WE got there right at 9:30 pm, after pausing to pray when we were so close but couldn't find their building number. The Lord answered our prayers with a man who walked by just then and pointed us in the right direction. Sure enough, the doorbell said "Missionaire" and we rang. We asked if a "Summit" lived there, and one came bounding down the stairs to open the door in delicious shock and excitement (she had no idea we were coming or that we were even in Europe). It was so good to visit with her and meet her way cute companion (Sister Parker from Alpine, UT). Ok, now I am going to skip a lot of story because it would go on way too long and it's too close to my heart to not give it enough explanation, so for now I will skip to Sunday. We went to the Dresden Ward, which was huge! I mean, compared to our 20 people Goettingen branch. It felt like being at home in Utah. The people were so strong and confident in the gospel and all so friendly. We met two women- sisters- who were on a mission there- they were both well into their sixties and widowed within a few months of each other and wanted to serve a mission together. They were adorable and really cool- they didn't speak a word of German before they got there either, and only knew what they had started to pick up there. Pika had a miraculous answer to prayer with running into someone she knew there, but I will let her tell that story. And then skipping a lot of other detail and events, we found ourselves back on the train home. This was complicated a bit when one of our trains was three minutes late, which resulted in us missing our next transfer. This equated to us not getting home at 11pm Sunday night as planned, but at 3:30 am Monday morning. One of our train transfers had us stop at this tiny town no one has ever heard of. The only way I can think to describe it is to compare it to that tiny train stop in the movie "Fiddler on the Roof" where the Tevye waits with his daughter as she goes off to Siberia or something. We stepped off the train into this god-forsaken (as I referred to it at the time), cloud covered, desolate town. I kind of felt like I was in Siberia actually because the fog and penetrating damp cold and lack of any one or anything alive around. Admittedly, it was one in the morning, but, still. There was no place indoors to wait, so Pika and plunked down on a self- plastic-bag covered bench to wait out the hour and a half we had before our next train came. The time passed quickly however, as Pika and I told me of her adventures living in Germany back in college. And we arrived on the doorstep of our beloved Goettingen apartment at 4 am, Monday morning.
I wish I could tell you more of the miracles and adventures and tender mercies and answers to prayers Sister Pika and Sister Wren experienced that weekend in Dresden, but I feel bad for how long this is already. It has been a long week for me since then. But I will never forget the trip to Dresden and the things I learned. Thank you for all those who have had me in your prayers and thoughts- I have felt them so much. I miss you all excruciatingly. I will have to tell you all about how my classes at the Goethe Institute are going and the people I have met there, and maybe about my emotional and spiritual journey these past few days, but I will spare you for today. God be with you,
Emily
Friday, October 3, 2008
Tag der Deutschen Einheit
Wow. That's all I can say about Berlin. I knew it was a big city, but I am so used to my little Goettingen that I forgot temporarily there were bigger cities in Germany. It was like going from Provo to New York City. It was beautiful and had so much history that I had to be careful to not get numb to it. We left right after Mom, Kara, and I got out of school on Tuesday and caught a 2 PM train. Pika, Dad, Mom, Kara, and I all squished around a table on the train and ate a meal Pika had packed for us and played card games, read, slept, etc. We had sat across from 2 graduate students from the east coast on an exchange program and talked to them for a while. There is this magical bond that happens between people when you find someone who is from your home country when you are both abroad. It made me wish that it could be like that all the time at home too, and not just when you can appreciate it because you are in a foreign country- to just make conversation and be friendly to everyone you meet because you can! You can freely communicate, so why would you not take advantage of it? Hopefully I will remember that when I come home.
Ok back on topic. So after we arrived in the ginormous Berlin Bahnhof (train station), we hurried to make our way to our hostel, which was awesome btw, to leave our stuff there and then hurry to the US Embassy. There was an open house going on Tuesday that only happens once a year, so we had planned the dates of our Berlin trip around that. So we got to the Embassy and were really excited to be able to show our US passports and gain entrance. Again, even though we didn't know anyone there, it was fun to talk to people in English and drink Coca-Cola and eat triscuits and chedder :) As amazing as European cheeses are, sometimes you just want chedder. Anyway, we also were able to fill out absentee ballots there so we will be able to vote. It was amazing to note, as we came out afterwards, how incredibly close to the old East/West Germany division and the Brandenburg Gate were to the embassy... like a matter of yards. And the Brandenburg gate with the Quadriga all lit up in cotrast to the dark sky was truly magnificent. It hit me all of a sudden how little I actually knew about the history of Berlin and the wall, despite all that I have learned about WWII in general, and was fascinated as Pika filled us in on a little of the history. We walked down Unter den Linden Street (Under the Linden trees) and found a little Bavarian restaurant to eat dinner at- we had some amazing salad, soup, duck, and European-style pizza- I know weird combo of foods... and then Dad and Pika figured how to get us home via the subway system. The next morning, we had a really good continental-type breakfast at the hostel- traditional muesli, fruit, yogurt, and even a spread of bread, meat, and cheese. We decided to fight the rain of the day by hitting up museums, and you would all be proud- we hit 3 in the 8 hour day we had left! We first went to the 'New' Jewish Synagogue, which had a beautiful facade that seemed somewhat out of place, squashed between two appartment or business buldings on either side (see pic below). We learned all about the history of the building and how it was damaged during Kristallnacht and then bombed later. But it was rebuilt about 10 years ago and much of the old building and objects originally inside, were found beneath the ground when they began construction. After that, we went to the Pargamon Museum. Oh my goodness. I wish everyone in the world could go to this museum. We saw the Ishtar Gate from Babylon. YES WE SAW THE REAL LIVE ISHTAR GATE THAT IS LIKE OVER 2000 YEARS OLD! It was incredible. We weren't allowed to take pictures (though I think Kara may have illegally....) of it, but it is just like all the pictures you ever saw in your history books, but it is huge. And they have recreated like 1/6 of the rest of the Babylon city walls using the remains. The bright-blue color has been preserved because of how they painted and then put the bricks in a kiln like pottery. We were able to see tons of ancient antiquities and artifacts from western Europe to the Middle East. Our last museum visit was to visit Nefertiti. Because one can not go to Berlin and not see that. She was more beautiful and intricate than I imagined and it is incredible to realize how old and well-preserved it is. At this ancient Egypt museum we also saw countless other ancient sculptures, mummies, and papyrae (is that how you would pluralize papyrus?).
After our museum marathon, we realized how hungry we were an ate at this really yummy american-style burger place- we had all been missing being able to eat fries and stuff. We then walked by the gorgeous Berliner Dom and all we had time to do was take some pictures before we had to catch our train back home, which I don't remember much of, as I slept practically the whole way. But it was weirdly comforting to be back home in our cozy and dry little Goettingen, which amazingly felt like we were home when we got back to our apartment.
Friday, none of us had school, as it is a national holiday here- Tag der Deutschen Einheit, or Day of the German Unification. It is the day they commemorate the falling of the Berlin wall in 1989. So we enjoyed a nice relaxing 3-day conference weekend. We watched the first session live Saturday night and then the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning sessions today. I have my first day of the Goethe Institute tomorrow morning and I have been studying to take the German language placement test so that I can not have to start over at A1 agian. Kara has been sick with sinus junk :(, but the rest of us are happy and well, though missing you all, especially this conference weekend when we often gather as friends and family. The church is true, President Monson is a Prophet of God. Love from Germany,
Emily
Ok back on topic. So after we arrived in the ginormous Berlin Bahnhof (train station), we hurried to make our way to our hostel, which was awesome btw, to leave our stuff there and then hurry to the US Embassy. There was an open house going on Tuesday that only happens once a year, so we had planned the dates of our Berlin trip around that. So we got to the Embassy and were really excited to be able to show our US passports and gain entrance. Again, even though we didn't know anyone there, it was fun to talk to people in English and drink Coca-Cola and eat triscuits and chedder :) As amazing as European cheeses are, sometimes you just want chedder. Anyway, we also were able to fill out absentee ballots there so we will be able to vote. It was amazing to note, as we came out afterwards, how incredibly close to the old East/West Germany division and the Brandenburg Gate were to the embassy... like a matter of yards. And the Brandenburg gate with the Quadriga all lit up in cotrast to the dark sky was truly magnificent. It hit me all of a sudden how little I actually knew about the history of Berlin and the wall, despite all that I have learned about WWII in general, and was fascinated as Pika filled us in on a little of the history. We walked down Unter den Linden Street (Under the Linden trees) and found a little Bavarian restaurant to eat dinner at- we had some amazing salad, soup, duck, and European-style pizza- I know weird combo of foods... and then Dad and Pika figured how to get us home via the subway system. The next morning, we had a really good continental-type breakfast at the hostel- traditional muesli, fruit, yogurt, and even a spread of bread, meat, and cheese. We decided to fight the rain of the day by hitting up museums, and you would all be proud- we hit 3 in the 8 hour day we had left! We first went to the 'New' Jewish Synagogue, which had a beautiful facade that seemed somewhat out of place, squashed between two appartment or business buldings on either side (see pic below). We learned all about the history of the building and how it was damaged during Kristallnacht and then bombed later. But it was rebuilt about 10 years ago and much of the old building and objects originally inside, were found beneath the ground when they began construction. After that, we went to the Pargamon Museum. Oh my goodness. I wish everyone in the world could go to this museum. We saw the Ishtar Gate from Babylon. YES WE SAW THE REAL LIVE ISHTAR GATE THAT IS LIKE OVER 2000 YEARS OLD! It was incredible. We weren't allowed to take pictures (though I think Kara may have illegally....) of it, but it is just like all the pictures you ever saw in your history books, but it is huge. And they have recreated like 1/6 of the rest of the Babylon city walls using the remains. The bright-blue color has been preserved because of how they painted and then put the bricks in a kiln like pottery. We were able to see tons of ancient antiquities and artifacts from western Europe to the Middle East. Our last museum visit was to visit Nefertiti. Because one can not go to Berlin and not see that. She was more beautiful and intricate than I imagined and it is incredible to realize how old and well-preserved it is. At this ancient Egypt museum we also saw countless other ancient sculptures, mummies, and papyrae (is that how you would pluralize papyrus?).
After our museum marathon, we realized how hungry we were an ate at this really yummy american-style burger place- we had all been missing being able to eat fries and stuff. We then walked by the gorgeous Berliner Dom and all we had time to do was take some pictures before we had to catch our train back home, which I don't remember much of, as I slept practically the whole way. But it was weirdly comforting to be back home in our cozy and dry little Goettingen, which amazingly felt like we were home when we got back to our apartment.
Friday, none of us had school, as it is a national holiday here- Tag der Deutschen Einheit, or Day of the German Unification. It is the day they commemorate the falling of the Berlin wall in 1989. So we enjoyed a nice relaxing 3-day conference weekend. We watched the first session live Saturday night and then the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning sessions today. I have my first day of the Goethe Institute tomorrow morning and I have been studying to take the German language placement test so that I can not have to start over at A1 agian. Kara has been sick with sinus junk :(, but the rest of us are happy and well, though missing you all, especially this conference weekend when we often gather as friends and family. The church is true, President Monson is a Prophet of God. Love from Germany,
Emily
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