Day 9

Wow did this tour go by or what!!!

Luckily today we needed to be on the bus at 9:30 am. So most of us got to sleep in a little bit longer today. We arrived to the Jewish Museum and there were two exhibits open. They had the lower level with different types of art exhibits based on the holocaust, and the higher level was an exhibit on Jerusalem.

The lower level is made into zig zags by the architect. It’s to make you understand a hidden language of the history of Jews in Germany. There is a Holocaust Tower. Inside it is dark, cold, and quiet. You can hear what is happening around you, but they can not hear you. The tower is tall which means you can only see a little light outside. On the other side of the exhibit was the memory void. Here an Israeli artist, Menashe Kadishman, made an instillation called Shaleket “fallen leaves.” There are 10,000 iron plates made into faces scattered on the floor. They’re all different shapes, sizes, and in all different directions. It was very moving to see.

Sadly the garden of exile, which is outside, was closed off.

We then moved to the upper exhibit which is about Jerusalem. The exhibit contained artifacts from all three main religions Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. It highlighted the conflict between Pakistani’s and Israeli’s. It showed us how many different people from both sides lived. I really enjoyed how they incorporated a video that followed people who lived in both parts for 24 hours. It was really interesting.

Then we had an option when we got back on the bus to stay at the hotel to head near Checkpoint Charlie or to walk around Alexanderplatz. It’s our last day so I decided to go to Alexanderplatz!

On this trip we have had multiple alumni and a few parents that came with us. They have been an amazing support group and have been so great to get to know!! Kate, Anna’s mom Jane, and I walked around the Christmas market that was there. We were hungry and I got a bowl made out of some type of dough and filled it with warm veggies and potatoes. It was great!! Kate got the curry wurst since she hadn’t had it before and enjoyed it. Curry wurst is definitely a common food here in Berlin. We walked around and then had Shokokuss. This is a dessert treat with a marshmallow filling covered with chocolate. We ran into Dr. Davenport and him and I shared one of them. It was great! We got the Irish cream one which had a nice mint taste to it.

Next we were on a mission for a sign for Kate’s Dad. Now everyone let me tell you… this was an adventure! We looked around the Christmas market found nothing, we looked at the train station and found nothing, and looked at their 5 story shopping mall and found nothing! We knew they had it by Checkpoint Charlie however we weren’t close enough to there. We decided to take the üban! We found a nice couple who spoke English that helped us with which train to take and which stop to get off at. Luckily for Kate and Jane, I am a pro at the underground system. I was able to navigate us through the station and to the correct stop. It was Kate’s first time riding one and Jane’s first time in Germany. We went to the first one we found near the checkpoint and there was the sign!! We were so excited that we went on this fun adventure to find it!! We walked back to our hotel using a map and even made it in time for a few minutes to relax in our room.

Next we headed to Hofbräu Haus München. If you’ve been to Hofbräu Haus in Columbus, it was just like that! Although, I’ve never been but that’s what everyone said :). All the servers were dressed in lederhosen. At dinner we had goulash!!! Which is my favorite German dish. We also had Apple Strudel for dessert. It was a fun atmosphere and Sasha and Hannah danced in front of the live band.

We can NOT believe it is our last night here on tour!! We are getting up at 2:45 AM to make it to the airport. We said our goodbyes to Reiner our bus driver, and are dreading our goodbye to Julia!

Thank you so much to those who’ve been following along with my blog on this trip! I love hearing from the other choir members that their parents have been enjoying it. We can’t wait to see you tomorrow, but wish we could have just a couple more days here in Germany.

Auf Wiedersehen!