Eire to Erie

Realizing that we've all got less than a month here was pretty tough this week. I know how lucky I am to be a part of this whole experience, and I've really been doing my best to make the most of it. I spent a lot of time thinking about how great this whole thing has been, and will continue to be, but also how completely excited I am to come home. I know that once I get home I'll miss this place more than words, but I also know how exciting being back at Mercyhurst/being in Buffalo this summer will be! I don't think I've ever been more aware of how fantastic my friends and family are, and how gracious I am to have them around.

Berlin part 2 (only a week and a half late...)

 This is the Berlin Cathedral, which is absolutely massive. We took a self-guided tour and ended up climbing 500 steps to walk around the outside of the main dome of the Cathedral. It was the ultimate panoramic view of Berlin, and completely worth the climb!

 We also went to see Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp that was used in WWII and later as a camp for political prisoners. Many parts of the camp have been turned into museum style exhibits, and the sheer size of the place is stunning. It was tough to see, but I think most of our group would say that they're glad to have seen it.

 This memorial was built at the camp in the 1960's. 

 Myself and my friend Lindsey at the graffiti wall. Thursday afternoon, our last day in the city, we had a great time exploring and goofing around. 

After accidentally taking the S-bahn (subway/rail system) in the wrong direction, we ended up at Alexanderplatz. There's a huge open air market, with clothes and food vendors, and even a mini petting zoo with goats! We ended up having dinner in a beirgarten, which was a great way to have one last real German meal!

Number 42!

Yesterday we were lucky enough to tour the Waterford Crystal Factory, and see pieces as they were being made!
Probably the coolest thing that I saw was this fireman's helmet, which is still in its early stages of production. It's being made for Mariano Rivera of the Yankees! I don't know the full story behind the helmet, but it was awesome to see and hold something that will end up in his home someday!

Berlin Part One!

I can officially announce that I've been to mainland Europe and its amazing! Nothing like I imagined of course, much better. Monday Morning we landed in Berlin around 10 o'clock, and trekked to our hotel. It's a gorgeous old building, and I get to share a room with Emily, Kellie, and Mary, three of my favorite people on the trip.
Monday afternoon we had a short tour walking around some important parts of the city. We saw Brandenburg Gate (and some great street performers), then walked from East Berlin to West Berlin and saw the Reichstag. It's the site of the German Parliament, and is really impressive in terms of architecture. Eventually we ended up in the Hackescher Market area, and our whole group had dinner together. It was very relaxing after a full day, and felt pretty authentic too! After taking the train back to the neighborhood where our hotel is located, it was great to actually feel oriented. Myself and my roommates did a bit of exploring, and ended up getting some sangria and tapas! Not exactly traditional German food, but very cultural and definitely delicious.

Today (Tuesday) was a long day as well. We got to see part of the Berlin Wall that is still standing, and hit up a bunch of different museums and historical sites. It was really amazing to learn so much about the city's history in a single day. We covered everything from the Nazi regime's rise to power to Checkpoint Charlie- a gate in the Berlin Wall where hundreds of people escaped from Communist East Berlin to Ally-controlled West Berlin. We also saw the Holocaust Memorial, and the site of what is going to be a new multicultural museum! (It was a bit weird to go into a museum about a museum that's still in the process of being built, but the exhibits were really cool!)
One part of our day that I particularly enjoyed was the time we had to explore on our own, at our own pace. It let us prioritize our afternoon, and travel in smaller groups. Myself and a few friends ended up taking a river boat cruise of the city, which was another first for me, and definitely a cool experience. Overall it was a quiet evening, but I certainly don't mind being able to rest up and plan for tomorrow!