One thing that is special about Forum-Nexus is the possibility to organize your own weekend trips and increase the number of cities that you visit on this amazing journey! I decided to help organize a Berlin weekend trip and I highly suggest going if you are on the fence about doing it. The travel is easy and you’ll be in the number one European city – according to my dad!
We were there for a total of two nights – Friday afternoon after classes were over, Saturday, and Sunday morning. On Friday afternoon, we saw some of East Berlin and the remaining parts of the wall. It was ominous to see the lengths which were taken to separate Berlin, and the stories of escape were horrifying. It gave a whole new and real view of a conflict that happened in recent history.
For dinner that night, we made a reservation at the oldest restaurant in Berlin, and third oldest in the world! The food was incredible – I had some German meatballs and a house-prepared apple tart / pie! The name of the place is Gue Letgten Jnstang and was founded in 1621! I also recommend trying every German beer that you can while there – even if you do not drink, try a sip or two! It is something very special, and is far superior to what we have in America.
The next day, we bought tickets for a hop-on, hop-off bus trip which took us mostly around West Berlin! We got the chance to see Checkpoint Charlie, the Sony Center, and a lot of other government buildings while driving by. We got off the bus and grabbed a German cheese pretzel, which was fantastic. We proceeded to have a guided tour from a local who lived through the WWII era and who explained how the whole square surrounding the Brandenburg Gate (The Gate of Freedom) was completely destroyed. The character in the chariot that you see above the gate is none other than Hercules ushering in peace, but was taken by Napoleon until his defeat.
The most harrowing area was the location of Hitler’s bunker, but it was seamlessly integrated into the rest of the city. Without the signage explaining the layout of the bunker, it would have been impossible to tell that it existed.
For dinner that night, we opted for a modern restaurant whose specialty included sausages, sausages, and more sausages! I got a platter that had three different types, and it was incredible! I also had an imperial stout which I would highly recommend. We also stopped by a famous chocolate store beforehand, so dessert was covered.
An interesting little fact about Berlin is that it is encouraged to leave your bottles or trash on the side of the road. This is because people are paid to come and pick it up; the result of this is an incredibly clean city – more so than Washington, D.C. The architecture of all the buildings emphasizes the power that the government has; it feels very imperial. Note that this is not a bad thing. On the other hand, it is amazing to see such architecture everywhere; even in the embassies. Berlin is the best!
By: Cameron Perl, Forum-Nexus 2017 Alumni