Day Eight: Back in Berlin

Even though Hamburg was windy and cold, we had been really lucky with the weather in Germany until today.  It was really gross out there all day, but I still had lots of fun seeing the Berlin Wall and then going around the city with Josh, Katie, and Sam.  We started out the day seeing more of the Berlin Wall and getting Stefano's input on it.  I would also like to use this blog to thank Stefano for doing such a great job informing us about the city and making it all so interesting.

Aerial view of the death strip

After the Wall we all split up, and my group headed to the DDR Museum.  It was incredibly crowded, but almost every exhibit there was fascinating.  I knew only a little about the DDR, but this really showed you all of the ways that government manipulated the everyday life of its citizens - from refusing to allow them to listen to the music or wear the clothes of the west, to giving children toy soldiers to get them interested in one day joining the military.  During this trip I feel like I've learned a lot about speaking German, but maybe even more about German history, particularly the history of the Wall and the divided Germany.  To anyone still searching for things to do tomorrow during the free day, I would definitely recommend the DDR Museum.

East German Toy Soldiers

DDR Government Official's Desk

After that we all ate, and then went briefly to look at the Altes Museum and the surrounding statues, which produced some good pictures.  Then we all decided to turn in earlier than usual because of the weather and just being tired.  Tomorrow is of course the last day in Germany, and it will be bittersweet to leave.  I miss America and everybody I know there, but I've had such a great here in Germany.