Day Two

After some much needed sleep, I awoke in a beautiful hotel room in Berlin and ready to start the day. We ate some breakfast courtesy of the hotel, met up with our awesome tour guide and started our day.

We experienced our first German public transportation. It was much better than Pittsburgh to say the least. We made our way to Freie University with Dr. Elfriede Fursich. Freie University is the largest university in Berlin and that was very apparently during our small campus tour. To put it simply, the university was absolutely beautiful. We ate lunch in their cafeteria, which was a bit overwhelming. Students flocked the area, which made it hard to navigate. The signs were all in German so we were not able to understand what anything was. However, we braved through it and figured it out with the help of one another. After lunch we had the opportunity to listen to a lecture by Dr. Elfriede Fursich. She is such an intelligent woman and it was a joy to listen to her. She talked about the media in Germany and how it varies from the United States. I found it very interesting that Germans would rather listen to the radio versus explore the internet. It made me think deeply about how much Americans rely on the internet and social media. It struck me that it is very rare to see a German walking down the street, staring intensely at their cell phone. They just seem much more conversational with one another. They enjoy their time with their family and friends. When they are with someone, they are actually with someone. They do not need their cell phone sitting on the table next to them. I find this very inspiring.

Once the lecture was over, we were able to explore Berlin on our own. A portion of our group went to this tiny, authentic German pub. The tables were very small and narrow and the waiter spoke almost no English. With the help of Andrea, we were able to successfully order our dinner (which was absolutely delicious). After dinner we decided to get a better grip on German public transportation and explore the Brandenburg Gate. Later on, we ventured off to a night club called Tresor. It was so different from clubs in the United States. The Germans have a very interesting way of dancing. We all joined in with them and had a really great time. Our first day in Germany was definitely a success!