The last day

So, tomorrow is the end of my trip. It really doesn't feel like I've been here for two days. It's crazy.

On the bright side, my project is complete and I'm overall happy with it. It's also a nice relief. We turned them in yesterday at 2 p.m. After that, Marissa and I went to the park so she could go on a seesaw for the first time in her life. It was a fun experience. We also named a ladybug Helga. I thought it was appropriate. The group went to dinner at a biergarten way out in East Berlin, then stopped by the bar Matt had

done his project on in honor of his 18th birthday. Dr. Pong's was our next stop, since not everyone had been.

To backtrack, on Monday some of us went to Potsdam.

I saw my first castle!! Sanssouci was really neat looking and the gardens were gorgeous.

Once back, the group went to see Christoph Neiman, an illustrator who often has his work in the New Yorker and the New York Times. It was pretty nifty. Dolores, a Mexican restaurant, followed that, then I went to work on putting my project together.

Learning the streets

Since my last blog post, I feel as if I'm seeing Berlin's true colors, all that it is. A big part of this may be that the weather's cleared up and I can wear my flip-flops now. Between my last post and now, I feel like we've been getting off the beaten path to see the interesting parts of the city.

Thursday, some of us journeyed to eat the much-talked-about Pink Flamingo pizzeria. I then tagged along with Marissa and Matt to see the Wall again. When I got home, I had gotten an e-mail back from a potential subject - Michael, a musician and DJ from Ireland. I was so happy and relieved that he seemed to have a general interest in what I was doing. Later that night, we took advantage of some of the public museums being free for the evening. No one was very impressed, but at least I can say I've been there. More importantly, at least I didn't have to pay to be bored.

On Friday, some of us decided to keep up the cultural thing and headed over to the Frida Kahlo exhibit. The work was really intriguing, and they had everything written in Englis

h as well as German, which made it a whole lot more interesting and easier to understand.

After that, Jesse and I decided to just explore around Kreuzberg, the district the museum was in. We ended up walking around for a couple of hours, discovering bunnies on trails and playgrounds, until we decided to pull out a map. Turns out, we had pretty much walked the entire neighborhood from north to south.

That night, I met up with Michael at the bar he was DJing at, then magically found everyone on the way back. Karaoke followed. Germans are really serious about their karaoke.

I got a late start on Saturday, as I was meeting with Michael at 1 p.m. I got to take pictures of his apartment and studio, as well as interview him more about life in Berlin.

Once the group got back from seeing the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, we headed to see the Karneval der Kulturen at night. There was such a diverse crowd and so many different vendors, both food- and clothes-wise. Marissa and I decided to try a club that multiple people had recommended, and we had a blast. The highlight was probably hearing 99 Luftballons mixed in with Michael Jackson, Ace of Base and Elvis Crespo. Today, we wen

t back to the festival for some lunch (I got some empanadas) and the huge parade.

One week down

The past few days have gone from a whirlwind of activity to a slow and do-it-yourself pace.

The bike tour was amazing. For four hours, our guide, Karissa, showed us the more alternative side of Berlin. This city has definitely become more appealing since then. We stopped by the river to get lunch and then continued to bike around for another couple hours, seeing squats and this great park with adorable little Berlin kids playing around. Thank god the bikes’ seats were comfy, as the tour was nearly five hours. After we all got refreshed, most of us went out for dinner and we laughed the whole way through.

Tuesday started our slower free-time days. I went with Marissa to an Irish pub, where she found her subject and we had lunch. That night, we went to Qi. The only word that can sum it up is a musical extravaganza. There were lots of disco songs, lots of sparkly outfits, lots of crazy acrobatics and lots of suggestive dancing. After, we went to see Tacheles, an abandoned building that is full of artists. The place was really cool, and I definitely want to go back there. Our last stop was back to the pub to see the band they had playing.

Yesterday was a slower day, as we got up late and I went on a hunt for a subject. I’m not exactly convinced that I have one yet. A travel agent was willing to be interviewed and his English is beyond good, so I’m hoping he has some interesting quirks that make the project stand out. If not, I’ll go into panic mode. I have some potential people, but they don’t seem as willing and harder to get in contact with. I’m hoping something spectacular falls into my lap.

The rest of the day was spent walking around, then going to a group dinner, where I had the spiciest salad of my life. After trying to see the Reichstag (they close at 11 p.m., but stop letting in people an hour before) we saw Marissa’s subject’s band, the Acoustic Warriors, back at the pub. They weren’t exactly a crowd pleaser. We finally made it to Dr. Pong after, which was the most unique place we’ve seen thus far. A true Berlin-only experience, every player runs around a ping-pong table, beer in hand, and if you miss, you’re out. Eventually, the four or five people left are running to keep up. It’s been decided that our group is going to reunite and make it a craze in Gainesville.

Walking the city

After a rest at the hotel (and me temporarily passing out), I grabbed a bite to eat at a little trendy restaurant with Michelle and Marissa. The Germans really like their asparagus, as everything on the daily menu contained it. This was okay with me, as I realized I needed some veggies.

Sunday was a long day. We had a guided walking tour which lasted about four hours. The sites we saw were amazing though. I am dying to go back to Museum Island and look at all the exhibits all the different museums have.

We got to see some Nazi buildings, as well as the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. In America, we learn about the Holocaust in almost every history class from middle school on. Meanwhile, in Germany, they try not to call attention to the horrific events which occurred here. The site of Hitler's bunker was apparently unmarked up until a few years ago.

Our guide, Kristen, was able to offer a personal view on the Wall falling, as she was about 9 when it happened, and she lived in the East. We got to see Checkpoint Charlie and ended in "the most beautiful plaza in Berlin" (I am still trying to figure out its name.)

After lunch at a little cafe, we took a long train ride to a lake outside of Berlin. Luckily, the weather had let the sun come through and it was gorgeous and green. We waited around for the ferry to take us across the lake, where there were lots of people sailing. After we got to the other side, we stopped in a scenic biergarten. I'm really enjoying our group, as everyone's got a great sense of humor and is up for having a fun time. We then had a misadventure of switching from a bus to a train to get back to the hotel, but we made it home okay.

We stopped in Alexanderplatz for a late dinner. Here, we found all these rollerbladers. Looking a little more into it, apparently it happens once a month and a drink called Bionade seemed to be sponsoring it. I do not recommend it. We walked around the hotel's neighborhood for a bit after that, had biers at midnight in the lobby to celebrate Jesse's 21st birthday then decided to call it a night.

Today, Stephanie, a TIME Magazine correspondent, came to speak to us and give us some story ideas. I'm really wanting to do a young parent, as we are right next to a neighborhood with the highest percentage of children in Berlin, if not Germany ( I'm looking into that.) Now, we're off to do a bike tour around the city. More on that later.