Berlin Day 2

Me in front of where the treaty to end WWII was held.

Building where the treaty was signed. Later became communist torture and investigation location. The things that occurred in this building I shiver to think about.

Never seen an elevator like this. There is no open and close you jump in and jump out. I rode in it of course. Should of had someone take a picture of me.

Outside famous church which escapes me. I will edit later, massive structure that was damaged heavily during the war. Surprising it is not that old, from the early 1900 s. Remember students that is not that old thinking historically, especially in Europe.

Is that the model I always see in pictures? He looks like Brad Pitt.

Hello, rather late here so I will try to make it short. Not so sure if that is possible with me but I will give it a whirl. Another amazing day. I have pinched myself several times making sure it is true that I am in fact here. This morning I got up around five a.m. I put my pictures on the blog, which I royally messed up, went to the swimming pool then had breakfast with some friends. The pool was crazy. It has a device that creates waves in the pool to make a current so that it is harder to swim. Really cool and the first time I have seen that. Then for breakfast there were tons of assortments of various fruits, meats, yogurts, cheeses, basically anything you can think of. I will try to get a picture tomorrow. I feel like I am royalty here. INCREDIBLE!!!!

We then walked down to the Goethe Institut here in East Berlin. It is located in a hip part of town that has been redone in the last couple of years after reunification. We were given a lecture and discussion by an educated man that was incredibly enlightening. The topic of the discussion was Germany today. I will share this discussion with some of you when I get home. Long story short, Germans struggle with the perception of themselves. They almost feel uneasy showing any nationalism or pride in their country. The soccer world cup a couple years back has helped them with this and their unification. He talked a lot about challenges in modern day Germany as I mentioned it was very well done.

Following this we went down to the Foreign Affairs office where we had another incredible meal with a German diplomat. She was very kind and treated us with the utmost class.

We then took the bus way out into east Berlin. We visited a museum that once was headquarters for the German Army engineers. This was also the site where the treaty to end World War 2 was signed by the four major powers. Incredibly this museum is not really known about it. Much of the room where the treaty is signed is still intact. I was amazed to be in this room. The history of this room is all I just kept thinking. The creaky floors were original, the chandeliers, walls. After the war the Soviets used it for their secret police were torture and questioning was done. The terrible things that were done in this museum creeped me out thinking about it. The Soviets were known for their cruelty and viciousness. If only the walls could talk. Later the soviets made it into a museum, kissing their own butts for what they did. Our tour guide got emotional to the point that she cried at one point. It made me rather emotional too. The Germans I give them credit have accepted and faced their mistakes head on. The museum showed the bitter realties of World War 2, the Holocaust and Communism. I learned a lot and enjoyed every second of it.

Later we went to the Alexanderplatz square where east Germans demanded their freedom in 1989. Massive protests occurred and they succeeded by bringing down the Berlin Wall. This is the twenty year anniversary of the wall coming down so there are many exhibits in the square. One was a movie showing the emotional reunion of east and west and also the cruelty of the communists. It is amazing to think how far they have come in twenty years.

Lastly we went to a nice Asian restaurant where I was able to try an assortment of foods I never had. It was very good. We also just had a great time socializing and discussing our reactions to the day.