Trip to Berlin

Friday witnessed another early morning for Lorenzo and I. We hopped on a train in Florence, and hopped off in Berlin. We were fortunate enough to have a connection in Berlin (Lorenzo's family friend) that allowed us to stay at his house, free of charge. After catching up with him and freshening up from our travels, we set out to meet a group for a free walking tour. The tour was a few hours long, and focused primarily on the historical aspects of the city. Seeing as I had just finished an intensive "Twentieth Century Europe" history class this semester, which obviously centers quite a lot in Berlin, this amazing city was at the top of my list of places to visit. It was incredible to stand in such historical places and see the aftermath of events I had constantly read about in textbooks. The tour guide was especially great because she not only enlightened the group on the history of Berlin, but also made an effort to point out Berlin's future -- that Berlin's history of being the epicenter of events in the twentieth century is not stopping Germans from molding the city into a very modern and unique city.
The tour lasted a few hours, and at the end we wandered through the immense city, eventually finding a park to lounge in. We laid in the grass and chatted for hours, processing the vast amount of information that had just been thrown at us. As the sky began to fade, we headed back towards the apartment.
The next day, we were up early for a very important -- though I cannot say a very fun -- excursion. We headed to take a tour of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Though I had visited a concentration camp in Germany a few years ago, the intensity of the experience did not diminish in the slightest. I do not feel the need to describe my visit to the concentration camp, but I will say that I believe it is an important experience for people to have.
After spending the entire day at the camp, we headed back to the apartment. We were all exhausted -- emotionally and physically -- and soon realized our plans to wander the city at night were a bit too much for that day. We discussed our experiences as we made dinner at the apartment, and eventually fell asleep from pure exhaustion.
I have to say that I feel so fortunate to be able to travel with such wonderful people. As I am visiting these incredible places that I have only ever dreamed about seeing, I realize the importance of learning about the history as well as the present-day significance of the cities. Being able to have intelligent conversations with my friends over our experiences with and interpretations of these cities makes travel that much more meaningful. I cannot imagine visiting Berlin, a city with such a dense history, without being able to discuss and process fully the impact of its history.
My experience of Berlin was mostly focused on the historical aspects of the city, which I think was important for my first time in Berlin. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the vibe of the present-day city, and fully intend on returning so I can delve deeper into the modern culture of Berlin.