Snails

The snails here are so huge! I didn't even know they could be that big. I keep getting made fun of because the people here think they are a normal size. I can't get over it! My mind is officially blown.
-Georgia

First impressions, part 2

The Reichstag Building and Holocaust Memorial

One of the first things visitors see in the Reichstag building are the purple chairs. There are more than two major political parties in Germany, but none of them use purple, making it a neutral color. On the top of the building, one could see the whole city. There was a glass dome that had spiral stairs that ran along the sides of the glass that goes up about five or six stories. In the center of the dome hangs many mirrors that reflect the sunlight into the main part of the dome.

Our last day in Berlin we visited the Holocaust memorial and museum. The memorial was above ground and took up an entire block, they were blocks of stone in varying sizes. As people walked through it they began to disappear inside of it.

-Matheson and Natali


Berlin, Germany is quite an adventurous city. After an eight hour flight, a few bus rides, and a hike to the  hostel, 16 exhausted kids piled into their rooms (three rooms with eight beds each) hoping for a restful night. Despite being tired, the kids did not sleep much, kept up by the exciting fact that they were IN ANOTHER COUNTRY. The following nights continued in the same fashion along with hat stealing, loud neighbors, and the occasional nosebleed. Their adventures continued the next day, trekking through Berlin (without suitcases this time) seeing many famous buildings. One group of girls enjoyed pizza and pasta for lunch while drinking carbonated water on this first day. They all agreed it was wonderful, even though it wasn't German food. The next day took the kids to the political center of Berlin where they learned about the government of Germany including the five major political parties. This was accompanied by the taste of currywurst and european Fanta. Their last day had the american students visiting the Holocaust memorial and museum, a very sad experience that is a powerful reminder of the event that had transpired. This was followed by a long train ride filled with reading, writing, card games, storytellng, and lots and lots of sleeping. The nerve wracking exit was forgotten at the exciting meetup with the German families and the reunion of friends separated by an ocean. After being introduced to the homes of their respected families and eating a nice dinner, the American students were able to try and catch up on some much needed sleep (jet lag is horrible). The most recent adventure leads the students to doing as we are now, typing a fantastic paragraph for Mrs. Lay, so auf wiedersehen for now!
    -Sarah & Angie 

How to get thrown out of the Reichstag- a step-by-step tutorial

1. Obtain knowledge from Kieran.

2. Obtain an American flag

3. Embark on a journey 4,000 miles to Berlin

4. go on a tour of the Reichstag with flag in backpack

5. make it past the first security checkpoint

6. ascend to the top of the Reichtag, with backpack and flag

7. make it to the final hallway to ascend to the top of the glass dome to

    gain access to the rooftops

8. tuck flags into the backpack pockets

9. attempt to make it past the final security checkpoint

10. get caught with the flags and accused of plotting to take back the reichstag and flying an American flag over the city-state of Berlin

11.get thrown out of Reichstag 

-Nate and Grant

(Chaperone's note:  no, they did not get thrown out.  But the flags were confiscated and it was a rather tense moment.  And now we know:  no flags in the Reichstag!)

CURRYWURST IS BETTER THAN LIFE!!!

On our last day in Berlin we went to a food stand called Currywurst 36. Berlin is the home of Currywurst. So we had high hopes. Matthew ordered first, Catherine ordered next and Natalie ordered last. The language barrier did not seem to be a problem because the man spoke some English and tolerated Matthew's bad German. Paired with pommes frites (french fries) and a German Fanta (which is different from American Fanta), the Currywurst experience was everything we had dreamed of!!
-Catherine and Matthew