Me standing in the middle of a Holocaust memorial in Berlin

What a day. I am exhausted. But it had to be done. We had to push through today even though many of us were sleep deprived and slightly off-put by loss of luggage.

Despite crying babies, delayed flights due to lightening strikes and emergencies and rain, today was beautiful.

It was beautiful because of the wave of culture we just dove into.

It started with Paris. Even though we were just in the airport for a transfer, the fashion, the language, the poise and even the modern bathrooms were such a delight to behold.

Both of our tour guides went above and beyond to make us comfortable and to engage into the history and culture of Germany at the same time.

Half-dazed, I could still appreciate the fascinating and mysterious memorial for the Jews of the Holocaust in Berlin.

I managed to take as many photos as possible of all of the magnificent buildings, monuments and even relics of the Wall while on the bus and walking through Downtown. It was a wonderful hands-on history lesson.

Berlin is a different world. Modern architecture stands near aging cathedrals. Bicyclists speed past pedestrians on the sidewalk. Men wear bright blue skinny jeans with sweaters around their necks. It’s a little bit of a culture shock, and I love it.

As Americans, we are always searching for the antique and the ancient – where we came from – how were things back then. It is a yearning I am finding that will probably never be satisfied. But some Americans who tour Europe and other places bring upon themselves a bad reputation because they fail to respect these old cultures while they seek to expand their own.

My hope is that we not only diverge from following in the footsteps of those tourists, but also that we change the minds of some natives about Americans.

I’ve waited my whole life to come to Europe and I have rehearsed through my head many times what I would probably be doing and seeing – but never in a thousand years would I have guessed it would be anything like today. But that’s OK because something different is never necessarily something bad – it’s just the start of an adventure.