Wilkommen in Deutschland

Welcome to Berlin!!!!

After almost 12 hours of flying and airports I finally made it to Berlin!!! I've actually been here for almost a week now, and it's just flown by! We have done so much during our week of Orientation, it's been crazy!!! And walking!! We have done soooo much walking!!!! I'll have to tell you all about it!!! But where to start first ....

I guess I will start with my living arrangements: I'm living with a single mom, Anke and her 11 year old daughter, Paula. They are so nice and very helpful!!! My first morning here, I woke up to find breakfast laid out on the table and a little note that said, "Have a good day!" I just thought it was super sweet and a great way to start the day!! :-)

So I live with both them in one of Berlin's many districts, in Kreuzberg - the thing with Berlin is, while it a may be a city, it's not very cluttered or dense, instead it sprawls ... a lot. I think there are like 10 different districts ... it's crazy just how large the city is. I've done a lot of walking around and exploring, on my own and with the group, and I don't think I've even seen a quarter of the city!

I have however, seen some pretty interesting stuff!

Like the Berlin Dome:

The Royal Stables (back when Deutschland was ruled by Kings and Queens):

Alexander Platz (a popular shopping center):

Remnants of the Berlin Wall (not much of it remains, but there is still a path like this marking where it once stood):

The random bears in the middle of the city (I know, I was surprised as well):

The Town Hall:

The underground memorial of the Burning of the Books that took place on May 10, 1933. Socialist students burnt hundreds of books right in front of Humbolt Universitat (if you look closely you can see empty book selves through the glass - they represent all the missing books):

And Schloss Charlottenburg (where King Friedrich I of Prussia lived):

So far it has just been one adventure after another!!! Everyone in Berlin and in my program is wicked nice and so much fun! I can't wait to see where the rest of the my time here takes me!!!!!