Days 1 & 2: Arrival in Berlin

Our travel to Berlin could not have been any smoother (but, a few more hours of sleep on the plane would have been nice!).  So far, this group of travelers has been so wonderful, kind, and open to new experiences.  Berlin has welcomed us with plenty of sunshine.  Read more about our first two days of travel from Nandita and Madeline below!

Day Number 2 started with us all dragging ourselves off the plane. Right there, we met our tour guide Ildi who is going to be with us for the rest of the trip. We got on a bus and started seeing the sights of West Berlin. Ildi would give us some insight on history we may not have thought of before, and then we would see the city as we went. Something that surprised me about West Berlin is how similar it is to Chicago. If you dropped me out of an helicopter with noise canceling headphones, I probably couldn't tell the difference. Ya know, aside from the architecture and all that. the people in West Berlin were welcoming towards us. Unless we got in their designated bicycle lanes. Moving on. East Berlin was kinda like a deserted West Berlin, but the people that were there were very young. Here we went on the river tour. Whether it was rich information or beauty sleep, the tour provided it all. The rest of the night was pretty chill, and we got time to relax in our hotel rooms (windows open becaus🤷‍♀️). 

-Nandita

Today was our first official day in Germany and in Berlin. Before we got to Berlin, we had to take another flight from Frankfurt to Berlin first. Once we arrived in Berlin, we got onto our tour bu and headed to West Berlin. There, we saw what was left of an old and beautiful Protestant Church and all of the shops in West Berlin. Then, we all headed out to get lunch and after that, we got back onto the bus and went to East Berlin. We walked around a little bit in East Berlin and saw the outside of the Reichstagufer, the German Parliament, and took a nice boat tour too. Then, we all ate dinner together, went to a supermarket, and returned to our hotel rooms. We can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings! 

-Madeline