A Whole Week of Wonders

So I didn't have my computer with me while I was in Berlin and Switzerland, so I wasn't able to blog at all while I was there and therefore I already know I'm going to leave a lot out, but it will still be a long blog ha.  And you'll have to look at my facebook for pictures because there are over 700 and I don't feel like searching through them, haha.

We got to Berlin early in the morning on Saturday, and after we dropped off our luggage at our hostel, we decided to go find some food.  We went the direction that the guy at the hostel said to, but we didn't really see any places and kept on wandering down the street when we stumbled upon a farmer's market type place.  We found a place where they were selling dessert-type foods and couldn't resist buying some mousse cake things.  I got rhubarb and it was sooooo good.  I was also tempted to buy many other things that I didn't need, but passed up on them (even the vegetables that looked so fresh and good, I couldn't buy them because I had nowhere to keep or cook them).  We also found this awesome park that we couldn't play on because it was fenced off.  After this we began our walking tour and headed towards Brandenburg Tor. On the way, we found Berlin's largest park, which apparently has a lake in it, but we only walked along the edge path.  On our self-guided tour we saw the Reichstag, memorial slabs for politicians who were kicked out during the nazi era, Brandenburg Tor, the Holocaust memorial and museum, and wall crosses as a memorial for those who died attempting to escape East Berlin.  After this we were really tired from all the travelling we had done and went back to the hostel to take a nap.  For dinner we went to a restaurant where you eat in the complete darkness.  And I really mean that you can't see a thing, I had to use my fingers to find out what was on my plate.  The people who served us were either blind or partially blind.  It was really fun to eat here.

On Sunday we finished off the walking tour by going to see the Berlin Parliament, the Topography of Terror, and Checkpoint Charlie.  At the Topography of Terror they have the last 200m of the wall that have been kept as preserved as possible.  Sadly, people had drawn graffiti on the wall, but some of it was funny.  They also had the history of the Hitler/Nazi era, and how it came into effect.  It was interesting to see the ways that they had used propaganda to make people like Hitler and the Nazis.  At Checkpoint Charlie we got our passports stamped for 5 euros.  We 6 stamps total: Russia, America, France, England, West Germany, and East Germany.  It started to rain pretty good at this point, so we went back to the hostel where I found a coupon for a Museum of Technology.  This was a fun museum, and they had a huge display on Wind Turbines, which I really enjoyed.  Sadly, their horse stairs exhibit was closed, so we couldn't go see those.  After the museum and dinner, I went to go see the East Side Gallery even though it was still drizzling.  The East Side Gallery is a place where the wall was preserved and artists were allowed to paint sections with whatever they wanted.  A lot of the paintings were really moving, and some were just funny.  Again, you'll have to see my facebook.

On our last day in Berlin, we went to the top of the Berlin TV Tower to get a panoramic view of the city.  We were over 200m up.  Afterwards we saw the Red Town Hall, Berliner Dom, Deustcher Dom, French Dom, Konzerthaus, Book Burning Memorial, and the Altes Musuem.  These were all near eachother, so they didn't take long to see.  For lunch I had a real German meal, though I forgot to take a picture of the menu, so I can't remember what kind of sausage it was exactly, but I also had potato salad and a German beer.  It was all good, except the beer was not all that great haha.  After lunch we trekked out to the New Synagogue, a sort of memorial synagogue for one that was burned down on Kristallnacht.  Then we did some shopping and headed to the airport to go to Switzerland!

Olivia picked us up at the airport and we took the train most of the way back to her house.  It was pretty late by the time we got back, so we just went to sleep.  On Tuesday, Olivia drove us to Austria and Liechtenstein.  Apparently there is a castle in Liechtenstein where the prince lives, but Olivia couldn't find it.  The prince is also not really a prince.  He is called a prince because he is the head of the Principality they have in Liechtenstein.  In Austria, we stopped at a random church which turned out to be a good one because it was not ugly like Olivia said it would be, and it also had a memorial for soldiers who had died or gone missing during the World Wars.  When we got back to Olivia's we rode bikes to the lake by her house and ate ice cream while enjoying the view of Germany and Austria across the lake.  For dinner, Olivia's mom made a traditional Swiss meal (I never learned the name) where you melt cheese on a little pan in the middle of the table, and then put it on potatoes and vegetables that you have on your plate.  It was really good.  For dessert she made sussmostcreme, which tastes like apple pie, but its just a cream thing like apple sauce but not chunky.  They made me pronounce it in order to have some, so I made Olivia's brother, Jonas, say it in English so that he could have some because he is learning English.

The next day Olivia had to go to school, but Sarah and I took the public transportation to go to Hoher Kasten, a mountain in the Swiss Alps.  We took a cable car to the top, and OH MY GOODNESS THE SIGHT WAS AMAZING.  Our mountain was one of the littler mountains, but that didn't even matter.  I loved it.  While at the top of the mountain we ate at a restaurant that rotated while you ate so that you could get a view of the whole landscape.  After we ate we hiked down the mountain and saw snow and lots more amazing sights and we saw goats and cows.  It was so much fun, I'm definitely going back someday.  There was also a guy who ran up and down the mountain while we walked down and stopped for pictures.  For dinner we had tacos made by Olivia, and I got to meet Olivia's boyfriend, Ramon.  The four of us played a game similar to trouble/sorry/parcheesi, except that there were a lot more rules and tricks.  It was a lot of fun.

On our last day in Switzerland, Sarah and I went to school with Olivia.  It was pretty much her last day, so nothing really serious was happening.  We went to her Economics and Law class, and her teacher there was really funny and spoke fluent English, as well as fluent every other language haha.  After Econ, we went to her French class to eat croissants.  I also got a Swiss drink called Rivella.  Rivella is supposed to be good for mothers who a breastfeeding, so I told Olivia that I was going to buy a bunch when I have a baby (hopefully I'll remember because this is going to be a long time from today haha).  After school we went to a farm where they have a bunch of Ostriches.  Ostriches are the goofiest birds.  Then we went back to Olivia's and hung out and went on a bike ride where I saw a swan, it was gorgeous.  We had to leave at 3:30 for our  plane, even though our flight was not until 7:30.  It was sad to say goodbye to Olivia, but I had a great time while I was there, and her family were great hosts.  Thanks Olivia, Carmen, Jonas, and Res for hosting us!

The flight from Zurich to Stockholm was supposed to have a 40 minute layover in Berlin, but we were delayed 45 minutes in Zurich because of a storm.  So when we got to Berlin, we had to run to our terminal and take a bus to the plane out on the tarmac to get to Stockholm.  Then in Stockholm we just missed the bus we needed to take, so we had to wait a little longer, but I was still able to be asleep by 1:30 am.

Today we had orientation for our trip, and we've already been assigned readings :(.  I guess this is when I have to remember that I am here for school, not just travel :P.