Clubs, clubs everywhere.
I stepped onto campus, and got a K-State email, and that was the end of all boredom. Every day was something new. "Oh, you heard about Rugby this one time? Join our team of over-masculine women and let's beat the crap out of each other on the field!" "Do you have two eyes and a nose? Well I have the club for you! Join the National Tractor Making While Basket Weaving Club!" Or the worst: "Like, oh ma gosh, join our super awesome sorority! I promise you'll only spend half of your parents' life savings on clothes for the date parties, not to mention the tee shirts we make for every single event. (A light bulb went out? Let's make a tee shirt!) I promise you'll have just enough time left over to tell everyone how many friends you're making!"
Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. what do you do? How do you make friends? What clubs are "lame?" What club is sure to get me a job that makes at least six figures a year with the least amount of effort possible?
Now, getting back on this hypothetical time machine, let's move to February 1st. My first day on campus at Czech University of Life Sciences. The sidewalk was so clear of chalk about upcoming events I almost fainted! Where are all of the useless/time consuming organizations?!?! I almost died of Too-Much-Free-Time Syndrome. The only active "Club" scene the Czech Republic has is the actual club scene. So when Ty told me that the university had actually ORGANIZED a trip to Berlin,Germany for the students, I was shocked.
Here's a picture of me after hearing the news:
Once my jaw returned to it's normal position, Ty and I signed up for the trip. It sounded wonderful. for only thirty dollars a person we could ride a bus to and from Berlin, tour Reichstag, see the Berlin Wall, pass through the Brandenburg Gate, stand in the location of Hitler's Bunker, view a Holocaust memorial, stroll through Alexanderplatz, admire the Berlin Cathedral, and choose from one of 1,600 Doner Kebab (gyro) shops in Berlin.
With CULS lack of experience in planning for group events, it's no surprise our trip got off to a rocky start. We left the bus stop on time, but ended up waiting at a bus stop for fifteen minutes for one of the organizers who was late. Big surprise. (If you haven't read this yet, EVERYONE in the Czech Republic shows up late, by at least fifteen minutes--even the teachers.)
The first of the ride went over fairly well. It was obvious that Europeans aren't used to road trips because we stopped the bus three times on a four and a half hour trip for bathroom breaks. There was, however, one girl in the back of the bus who has the whole nails on the chalkboard sound beat. Her laugh was awful. I thought it would stop after fifteen minutes, but it carried on for literally the WHOLE trip there, with no pause. And, she resumed it on the trip back. I found myself wishing for ear plugs! But, eventually we tuned it out.
We were scheduled to start our time in Berlin at 11:00 in the morning. We pulled up to our first stop at 12:00. Ty and I were a little disgruntled that we had less time in Berlin, but it was okay because we had some free time at the end of the day we could use. Our first memory of Berlin is almost getting ran over by a bicycle. Berlin is a very bike-friendly city. On every sidewalk, a portion is made out of red or a different shade of gray bricks that signals for the bike lanes. Getting yelled at by a German woman with a loud bike bell clued us in pretty quickly! Thankfully, no one was injured, and we were able to carry on with our trip!
We saw the Berlin Wall first, and it was an enlightening moment. Most of the wall is knocked down, so the point where we visited there wasn't actual wall. There were different bricks on the ground showing where the wall was as well as large metal posts.
This is one of the main tourist sites of the Berlin Wall. Close by there is an overlook that you can climb up and see more of it. Along the sidewalk there are multiple displays where you can learn more about the wall. There is also a representation of a church that was demolished shortly after the wall went up. Many of the displays showed how desperate families were to escape. I guess the grass really was greener on the other side!
Here's an example of the different colored stones.
This is a cross from the aforementioned church.
Here is a picture of Ty and one of his friends in front of the "wall."
Some parts of the wall are still in tact and people have used these parts of the wall to express themselves. The painting on the wall ranges from grotesque spray painting to actual art.
When we left the wall site, I was really glad to have this store to tell me where I was!
On the way to Reichstag, I came across this street. Obviously named after my Gram. :)
And here it is: the infamous Reichstag.
We were a little disappointed because we had hoped to hear some of the history of Reichstag. But what do ya know, they weren't really forthcoming about it on the tour! Instead, they took us up to a huge glass dome (shown below) where we were able to see an incredible view of Berlin.
Soon, we had left Reichstag in search of food. (Because our bus was so late we skipped lunch.) To quote one of my K-State Professors, Dr. Nichols, "Hungry people are angry people."
Luckily we found some DELICIOUS bratwurst. It really is very good in Germany!
While we were enjoying our meal--at three o'clock in the afternoon--we saw one of these stroll by. A five person bike where you can all pedal at once and converse with each other. The one we saw earlier was better, though, because it had a bar in the middle of it!
Once we finished eating, we made our way to the Brandenburg gate. Of course we stumbled across an impossibly beautiful couple on their wedding day!
We tried to recreate the picture in front of the Brandenburg Gate, but it just didn't look the same without the huge pink dress. ;)
Soon we were ushered away from the gate onto the next sight. On the way, we came across a Commerce Bank!! But, the sign makers weren't very good because they spelled it wrong!
Our next stop was a Holocaust memorial. The meaning of all the blocks is debatable, but if you want to read more about it, you can do so here.
By the memorial there were several restaurants. Outside, there were servers trying to get people to come into the restaurants. At one point I got called "delicious" and Ty almost got into a fight. I'm not sure what was more disturbing: being called delicious, or this hot dog.
We left the memorial in search of the Berlin Cathedral. I think it's the second most beautiful cathedral I've seen. (The first being St. Stephen's in Vienna.)
It's beauty was somewhat marred however by this strange man walking around in front of it in a speedo. Ummm, I'm pretty sure they have pants in Berlin!
This guy was also pretty disturbing! This is a real man covered in silver paint. While he was a very good statue, he wasn't a very good cowboy! When you tipped him he did a sort of dance with all sorts of obscene gestures... Maybe he's a drunk cowboy/statue?
We thought about getting coffee after, but something about this shop made me stay away...
Basically, I think Berlin needs to work on its advertising strategies.
And they say everything is bigger in Texas. Ha, say that to the 10XL store in Berlin!
For supper, we HAD to get Doner Kebabs. They were pretty good! There's over 1,600 shops in Berlin because this is apparently a Turkish food, and these restaurants have thrived because of the large Turkish population in Germany. They don't really need much help because these things are delicious!
Another thing we've seen throughout Europe is cigarette dispensers! I'm not really sure how this works, but I think it would be tough to regulate the sale of these to minors. But hey, it's Europe, so you never know!
One second you could see a cigarette vending machine, and the next you could be in awe of a beautiful building!
Or you could find some really drunk man passed out in the street holding a Billa bag. Once again, you never know!
One of the best parts of the day was surprises. At the end we were surprised with a festival going on in Alexanderplatz (Alexander Square). There was singing, dancing, and the people all looked so happy. It's strange to me to think that a place once stricken with such controversy and such tragedy could continue on, growing, and building new, without the shadow of its past constantly hanging over it.
Despite how crazy, unorganized, and bumpy the trip went, I truly enjoyed seeing Berlin. It was a modern city with such a diverse past.
Thanks for reading!
Great post loved it great pics and stories
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