Day Two:
I must have gotten the best sleep ever. After 48 hours of traveling, the greatest gift anyone could have given me was a bed. The morning started well. Breakfast was down in the lobby with an assortment of food such as eggs, fruits, rolls, yogurt and different meats. It was very delicious.
The plan of the day was to venture to Freie University for two lectures with Dr. Elfriede Fursich. The two presentations she had set up for us were “Current German Media Landscape” and “Influence of the media on the German People during WWII and the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
Taking Berlin’s metro system
Dr. Fursich met us at the hotel with our tour guide, Loraine, who gave us a lesson on German public transportation. In Berlin, there is the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn, they are part of a metro system. It was fairly easy to understand after learning what to look for. The first time on the S-Bahn and U-Bahn was fun. The doors to the bus aren’t automatic and you have to push a button for the door to open. Plus it is very clean and well organized, which is vastly different from Philadelphia.
When we arrive to Freie University, the town was different from the city. The town was more of what I was expecting Berlin to look like. The place was very calm and peaceful with nice homes and apartments tucked in between different bushes and plants. In a word it was beautiful.
Dr. Fursich led the way to the university. She first took us to the cafeteria for lunch. It was like be at an orientation for college, which is basically fish-out-of-water syndrome. Being in the cafeteria was different not only was this the cafeteria filled with a bunch of hungry students, but all of the menus were in German and no one really spoke English. Despite feeling out of place, I managed to find a sandwich and small salad.
After lunch, we were given a tour of the university. The building by itself was mind-blowing. The architecture of the building was incredible. The library is called Phiologische Bilothek. The building’s shape reminded me of a Beehive. It was unique and inside was amazing. My only regret is that I wished they allowed pictures of this unusual building.
The lectures given were very informative and provided information that didn’t even occur to me such as the different theories the German media follows under. Another was what happened to the media after the reunification of Germany. It was such a pleasure to get first hand information.
After Dr. Fursich’s lectures we were given free time. This time was when I learned how to master the art of Berlin’s metro system. I guided our group across Berlin. I really just wanted to know how to use the metro system in case I got separated, but it worked out for our group. The group I was with went to a little pub for dinner called Stadtklause and we order schnitzel and potatoes. This place did not have anyone who spoke English but with the help of Andrea we were able to order. The food was filling and enjoyable.
We then went to Alexanderplatz and Potsdamer Platz through the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn. We really wanted to go to this festival in Hermannplatz, but we couldn’t find it. By this time we decided to check out the nightlife of Berlin by going to one of the clubs Lorena suggested. We chose Tresor.
We planned on taking the U-Bahn there, but it was closed. We had to get two taxis to get there but it was worth it. I have to say I did have “me moment” where I tripped over the curb going to the cab, it was slightly embarrassing, but I trip all the time.
Tresor was a disco club. It was truly the opposite of what I though German Nightlife was like. It was really easy to just join in and have fun.
I can’t wait for tomorrow!
Carson
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