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