Days 3 & 4 - Amsterdam to Berlin

On day 3 we started out on a 6-hour train ride from Amsterdam to Berlin. Everyone was pretty tired and bored, so they started playing card (and video) games. To keep the kids busy, students ran errands for chaperones including getting them coffee from the cafe train, which inconveniently was in the last car.

We then arrived in Berlin and everyone was exhausted. Marina first taught us the rules of public transportation in Berlin (lots and lots of trains). As we walked to dinner, we saw the Brandenburg Gate, which shows the symbol of peace for Germany.

We got a police escort through the thick crowd gathered to watch the Germany vs Mexico soccer game. Mexico won and the police were not too shabby looking. After a filling and delicious dinner of Spatzle, Marina took us to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, where we all remembered the Jews and interpreted the monument in a different way. It was quite a beautiful and humbling experience.

We got back on the public transportation and headed back to the hotel. As far as we can tell, day 3 was a pretty relaxed and good day.


Day 4 was our first (and sadly only) full day in Berlin. Our local German tour director Kevin Kennedy took us on a very intriguing tour of the capital city filled with amazing sights, history, and jokes. We visited a very aesthetically pleasing Soviet monument with a darker history in former East Berlin, as well as getting to know the many important facts about the separating of Germany after World War II.

After the adventurous bus tour, we got dropped off at one of the last Market Halls left in Berlin, where we were joined by our American/German friend Julia. The students had free time to get lunch and other souvenirs, which resulted in many going on the classic food tour of Berlin. Some dishes are bigger than you think when ordering. Afterward, we found our way to the Jewish Museum in Germany, in which we got to tour the art and history-filled building with a gold mine of everything from crazy interactive art with a meaning to artifacts explaining parts of the Jewish Religion.

Although we did end up going to one of the murdered Jews' courtyards, the group as a whole seemed to be exhausted, so we hung out for a bit before a dinner with meatballs, rice, and vegetables.

We headed home after dinner, where a warm bed was waiting for all to collapse on.