Well, the couchette experience was a unique one. With a couple of exceptions, our group did not get much sleep during our first overnight train trip. It sounds like the ride was a bit bumpy and that most members of our group were not able to get comfortable or stay asleep for long. Nonetheless, we arrived in Berlin exactly on time (4:30 am), got some breakfast, and headed out toward our hotel to drop our bags off. Exhaustion has become a recurring theme, and we were all hoping that the hotel would offer to let us check in at 6:00 am so we could sleep for a few hours and then go out sightseeing in the afternoon. After we finally made it to the hotel (after a quick side trip to the wrong side of the city to show students that it's okay to get lost), we were informed that we could drop our bags off but the rooms would not be ready until 3:00 pm. We left the hotel very tired but intent on seeing the sights until the hotel could accommodate us. Unfortunately, the weather was chilly and it started raining just after we got downtown. Making an executive decision, Matt Packer commandeered a city sightseeing bus to drive us around on a hop-on, hop-off tour. This turned out to be an excellent move, and we spent a few hours taking pictures from the bus and getting oriented to the city while staying relatively dry. We had a late lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe - Berlin and made it back to the hotel to catch up on rest. Reports of this catching up on sleep ranged from three hours to 16 hours straight!
Today, we were all rested and ready to hit the museums. We started the day with a nice breakfast at the hotel and a friendly competition. Many of our group members are not well-versed in reading subway maps and navigating around large cities. We gave them a short lesson and then split them into three groups. Matt, Jennifer, and I each stayed with a group and had them take us to Museum Island, which is on the other side of the city. We all made it (some earlier than others), and it seems like everyone feels more confident in their ability to use public transportation.
Museum Island is a large area that consists primarily of five major museums. Today was set aside as a museum day where students could choose to go to any of these museums that they found interesting. As it turned out, they all stuck together most of the day and went to the same museums before taking a long walk down the Unter den Linden to take more pictures. I went to the Neues Museum and the Pergamon Museum, and both were excellent. The Neues Museum contains artifacts mostly from Ancient Egypt and Troy, as well as a whole floor dedicated to Prehistory. There were lots of spectacular pieces, and one could easily spend an entire day in each museum if there was time.
Neues Museum - Egyptian sarcophagus
The Pergamon Museum contains artifacts from the Middle East, as well as an impressive Islamic gallery.
Ishtar Gate
Pergamon Altar
Tomorrow we visit Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
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