I am frequently asked about my travels from my students. They usually ask what my favorite place in Europe is or which tour was my favorite. They also ask me why I go to some of the same places as previous trips. I think this trip has afforded me the best possible answer to that specific question. I've seen Munich and Krakow. I've previously experienced Dachau and Munich. I've been to Berlin three times now...but each time has been incredibly different. My first experience in Berlin was about 10 years ago. It was our first stop on a Central European journey that would also include Auschwitz and Prague. It rained. It was quite miserable. At that time, in my life, the experience of a miserable Berlin made sense. I think I was still stuck in the Cold War. I wanted to embrace the city and welcome it to the modern world, but the climate and the jet lag made that impossible. I left Berlin and thought I needed never to come back. But, I did come back...5 years ago. My experience could not have been more different. The sun shined brightly for our entire visit. It might have even hit 80 degrees. We walked all over the city. We willed ourselves into having a good time. We lounged on the grass outside of the Reichstag and we marked our spots on the Berlin Wall. The city was incredible. The one constant in my two visits appeared over the city's skyline. It was an enormous amount of cranes. Berlin is an industrial city and I figured they just liked building stuff. It was too dark to notice when we arrived last night, but the capital city of Germany has changed quite a bit since my last visit...and that is the reason why I keep coming back to the same cities. Things change. Our perspective changes. We begin to appreciate new things and we can seek out even greater adventures.
We started this morning by boarding a double decker tour bus. Our guide was named Jim. It's not a very German sounding name because he is not German. Jim is an American who came to Berlin to study German history and he has never left. It was kind of neat to have an American tour guide in a foreign city. Jim certainly knew what he was talking about...but he also exhibited a passion of the city that some local guides cannot express because of language barriers and accents. Jim taught us a ton about the city and we posed for a lot of great pictures. [Editor's Note: Still having issues uploading photos] Our tour took us to Berlin's Holocaust memorial. It is one of my favorite memorials and I hope the kids liked it too. There are over 2,000 concrete slabs rising from an uneven ground. None of the stones are the same, but they convey a notion of oneness. The artist never fully explained the grounds. He believed that the memorial needs to be abstract because the severity of the Holocaust is not something that the human mind can truly comprehend. From the memorial, we visited the location of Hitler's World War II bunker...it is buried beneath a parking lot. We also walked to the Brandenburg Gate. One of our travelers, Colleen, lived in Berlin when the wall divided east from west. She was in awe of the changes and she told me that she called her daughter to explain that she had just walked through the Gate. That was impossible the last time she was here...I smile every time I think of it.
Our tour with Jim ended and we took off to Checkpoint Charlie. This used to be a barrier between the Soviet sector and the American sector. [Editor's Note Two: Three different room full of girls are now sitting near me because a ton of bugs have flown into their rooms. Hotel housekeeping is taking care of the problem.] It is a tourist trap. Years ago, it was a tourist trap. Now, there is a Starbucks and McDonalds. Our kids loved it, lol. Honestly, a bunch of us went to visit a museum on the Nazis in Berlin. A few of us even got into a "captive" hot air balloon ride. This is a hot air balloon that is chained to the ground and provides a bird's eye view of the city. They say it is the safest form of transportation in the world. Normally, I'd stay away from such a device, but Nicole asked me to join her group. It was tough to say no. [Editor's Note Three: One room of girls just realized that they locked themselves out of their room. Day 12 is bringing forth all sorts of little dramas, lol] [Editor's Note Four: A prom-posal just occurred in a non-bug infested room] I am really afraid of heights. Like, really afraid. I grabbed hold of the railings as our balloon violently (exaggeration) took off from the ground. We rocketed (exaggeration) up about a mile (exaggeration). The view above was unreal, but I was totally shaking in my boots.
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| My first selfie..notice how petrified I look. (Pictures taken from my phone upload without issue) |
After the time spent near Checkpoint Charlie, we headed off to the Jewish History museum. It is a really good museum that examines the entirety of Jewish history, tradition, and culture. Ele took us on a guided tour of the architecture and symbolism associated with the museum. She is really knowledgeable and we have been very lucky to have her with us.
We then took the U-bahn and S-bahn back to the hotel area. We had dinner and went for a coffee along the wall. We celebrated Reid's birthday (One of our Canadian friends) and began to say goodbye to our knew friends. They presented us with a Canadian flag signed with well wishes and thanks. Our Saugus kids presented me with a thank you note accompanied by personal messages of thanks. It was really sweet and made all of the tireless nights worth it. Thanks Kids...You guys have been great and I thankful that each and everyone of you have made this journey with me. I hope you've learned to appreciate the places we've visited and that you will challenge yourself to travel again.
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| Victor Thunderchild, Kelly Klassen, Ele, Ms. Alongi, Ms. Mottola, and myself |
Tomorrow, we will wake and walk down to the Berlin Wall together. We will pack our belongings and prepare for our trip home. Thirteen days in Europe have presented a whirlwind of emotions. It is bittersweet that this trip is ending, but it will also be nice to head home, get some rest, and reflect on our experiences.
Mr. Lavoie currently in a bug infested hotel with a bunch of kids who are still laughing. I am a lucky chaperon!!!
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