Berlin at the turn of the century was known for its major roles in museums, and in higher education. During World War II Berlin was destroyed; but with it’s reunification Berlin came back and was restored as a major city.  Art Nouveau was a popular style in the nineteenth century in Europe. They also used more modern materials, such as iron and steel.

Today we ventured through the city in East Berlin looking for a gate, unfortunately we could not find it. We found out that we were in the Heart of East Berlin. It was not like the other parts of the city that we had seen. It was quiet, it had playgrounds and shops and did not feel like the city. We went to a park and learned about a statue of Käthe Kollwitz. Käthe Kollwitz was a really famous German artist. She was also a “safe person,” meaning that East and West Germany liked her. The other “safe people” were Rosa Luxunburg, Karl Marx and Frederick Inglies. I thought it was interesting, how they put her statue in the middle of a park and how it turned green over time because the children play on it.

We then went back to Unter de Lindin and learned about so many iconic and historic buildings. We saw court houses and government buildings. We saw awesome graffiti art. Today was such a long day and probably the coldest days we had so far. On the bright side the restaurant we went to was the best one we went to so far. It was this cute little Italian place and the waiter was so nice, unlike some of the other restaurants we went to.

Today was our first free day. I thought today was really fun. We woke up this morning at about eight, went to breakfast at the hotel at about nine, and we came back up to the room and we all fell back asleep. So we got a late start on our free day. I was with Madison, Alyssa, Amy,Grant and Sarah. We were originally going to go to museum island, but it was already two when we got to Alexanderplatz, so we all decided to just walk around Alexanderplatz. We went to Doner for lunch and I got a currywurst. We went to a cute little crape shop for dessert. We also went shopping and I got a cute little purse and hoodie for me, and I got gifts for my mom, my brother and my dad.

There were so many significant elements to the palace. One of the parts that was significant was the garden, because Sophie Charlotte was good architecturally and layed out the whole garden. I absolutely loved the garden, it was huge and really intricate.

I personally thing the palace is worth seeing one day. It is a gorgeous palace. The palace is has gold all over it, that has intricate patterns or in some cases people on the walls. In Sophie Charlotte’s part of the castle there is porcelain in every room and a whole room of porcelain. She got all of the porcelain from China, because they were the only ones that had it at the time. There is also so many stories and a lot of history in the rooms of the palace. There are paintings in about every room, of an important person or event. Overall the Charlottenburg palace is definitely a MUST SEE!

Old Berlin’s buildings had great historical significance. After World War 2 the city of Berlin had a few options of what they could do with their ruined buildings. They could demolish it, refurbish it or leave it’s ruins alone. The second picture is an example of a ruined church that they decide to leave the ruins alone as a historical site. Berlin did not have much of a medieval era. Although many of their buildings had a Gothic look to them. The first picture, besides the top of the building was completely Gothic, because the inside of the Nikolai Church it has ribbed ceilings, gold and some of the artifacts inside were Gothic. The third picture looks like it is from the baroque period, because of all of the gold and the statues. All of the churches that we have seen so far have been gorgeous, i’m really exited to see the Charlottenburg Palace tomorrow.

Before we arrived in Berlin I was looking forward to meeting new people, trying traditional German food and seeing the difference in the culture. I am excited to see all of the different sites and make the most out of this trip.

The first day was exhausting. We flew an hour to New Jersey, and then flew eight hours out to Berlin. We left at like seven pm eastern standard time and arrived in Berlin at eight am ( Berlin time), which was about two am our time. So we were basically up for 24 hours. When we arrived in Berlin we checked into our hotel, The Lebens Quelle. We ate a normal German breakfast, consisting of mostly meat and cheese. Then we took public transportation around the city and over to East Berlin. I really enjoyed their public transportation system. It is not nearly as dirty as back home in Philly or New York. i thought it was interesting how their double decker buses look different then the ones in England; because the ones in Germany were bright yellow and looked more like US buses to me. The city we went though today actually reminded me of a cleaner, more advanced version of New York with less people. After that we went to Mercado’s Famous Pizza. Everyone gets their own personal pizza in Germany. Although I did not like how they eat pizza with a fork and a knife here, I think it is so much harder that way.

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going. I am in Berlin for a hopefully awesome class trip. So stay tuned for more.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

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