A Fabulous Trip to Berlin!

Posted by Jaime Belitz

At 5 a.m. on Monday, May 23 we packed up the van and started our journey to Berlin.  It was a 5 hour drive from Papenburg, a town we arrived in just one day earlier.  The drive went quickly, thanks to our fearless driver Herman Nehe (and the fact that we all slept most of the way).

We arrived in Berlin around 10 a.m. and, after checking into our hotel, went directly to Checkpoint Charlie.  We took time to visit the museum and we were all moved by the countless stories of perseverance and survival.  At times, the stories seemed so unbelievable – how could this have happened in our lifetime?

After a fantastic lunch at Borchardts, we relaxed on a scenic and informative boat tour through the city.  We enjoyed great views and learned so much about Berlin.  There is so much history in Berlin.  The weather was perfect for a boat tour – sunny with a breeze.  We are all mesmerized by the beautiful gardens throughout the entire country.

We wrapped up our first day in Berlin with dinner at an authentic German pub.  Herman’s two sons, who are currently living in Berlin, accompanied us to Max und Moritz.  While Katie and Stephen were adventurous in their entrée selections, I was too hungry to take any chances and I ordered a delicious fish (Plaice).  It was a perfect evening to a long and exciting day in Berlin.

Tuesday, May 24: we got to sleep in!!  And then, we were off….our first stop of the day was to Neues Museum, an architectural wonder and all around beautiful museum.  The exhibit was fascinating as we traveled through Egyptian times, Roman times and more.  We only had an hour and a half to spend in the museum, but we could have easily spent all day.

Following a quick lunch, we headed to the Reichstag, a historical edifice constructed to house the German parliament.  Our hosts worked their magic and arranged for a private tour of the Reichstag including a visit into the dome.  Once it the dome, we marveled at the amazing views of Berlin.  Of course, we walked to the top of the dome, rested, and then headed back down.  We were on a tight schedule to make it to the theatre that evening.

We went to the largest theatre stage in the world at the FriedrichstadtPalast Berlin.  Yma was the name of the show we saw and it was enthralling.  We were in awe..the show was so much fun to watch.  There was dancing, acrobatics, trampolines, singing, swimming, break dancing and more.  SO MUCH FUN!  It was a great way to spend our last evening in Berlin.

The next morning we packed up the van, again, and headed home – but with a detour through Potsdam.  While in Potsdam, we visited two palaces - Sans Soucci and Cecilienhof.  The architectural details were amazing and the palace grounds were breathtaking.  We had a lovely lunch in the courtyard at Cecilienhof and a private tour of the palace.  Once again, our hosts arranged a wonderful day for us.

We arrived back in Papenburg around 8 p.m. and completed our Berlin trip with a small social at Herman’s house before returning to our host families.  Thank you for a fabulous trip to Berlin!!