Berlin - A Turbulent Past (June 16)

Berlin was full of memories of war and destruction. You could just feel it. However, since the wall encircling West Berlin was torn down (almost completely), construction has advanced rapidly enough that all traces of destruction have vanished.

However, despite the thoughts of Hitler, this thirteen-hour shore excursion was well worth the exploration. We had the immense privilege of visiting Checkpoint Charlie, Germany’s Legislature Building (picture), a cathedral, a plane from the West

Berlin airlift and much, much more. In addition to these wonderful destinations, we were allowed to view the incredible paintings added to the East side of the wall as an expression of freedom (picture) and to ride a train to and from Berlin, three hours each way. All of us are exhausted from this draining excursion, but it was well worth the effort. (Jesse)



Berlin was perhaps our most exciting day of the whole trip thus far. Early this morning we pulled into the port of Warnemunde. Given that Berlin itself is in the heart of Germany, we had to dock in a coastal city. Once we got off the ship, we boarded the train right away and began (at 7:15 AM) the three-hour trip to Berlin.

Once we got there, we met our bus and tour guide and began exploring the city. We saw many amazing landmarks and monuments, the most notable of which were the building that houses the German government, the Brandenburg gate, the memorial to the victims of the 1948 airlift and Checkpoint Charlie.

Today Berlin is a large, clean, modern city, but it was amazing to think of the ruins that have been replaced with new structures since the war, and the fact that barely 20 years ago, Berlin was just rising from the Soviet death-grip.
It was such a full day that I just can’t relate all the wonderful things that we saw. Berlin is a great city, and presents the contrast of the old and the new, the ancient and the ultramodern. It is definitely a place where I would like to spend more time in the future. (Jacob)