"... in my little town."

Hello everyone!

After a long delay, I'm back! Hopefully you haven't been holding your breath. I had hoped to finish the blog earlier, but with family and friends in town for the last two weeks and with a trip to St. Louis for a concert with my brother, I was unable to get to it. I'm sorry if this delay has worried any of you. I am currently in good health and happiness at home.

When we left off, it was my last full day in Darmstadt, and on the following day (Thursday July 31st) I would be heading to Berlin for one final adventure before the end of my travels in Europe. I had no problems with the checkout from my room, although saying "goodbye" at my place of work took longer than I had expected. With my luggage in hand and on back, I took the trolleys through Darmstadt to the train station. From there, I took a train to Frankfurt and then another to Berlin. As always, the view of the countryside was enjoyable. I arrived at the Berlin train station around 5:30 PM local time, taking the S-Bahn across town to a stop near Three Little Pigs, my hostel. As it turned out, the hostel was connected to a Catholic church which made going to Mass on Sunday much easier. After I had checked in, I ate some dinner in Mitte at a nearby Italian restaurant and then returned to the hostel to make plans for the following day.

On Friday morning, I woke up at 7:00 AM, eating breakfast at the cheap and delicious buffet in the hostel. I would need all the energy I could get as I did more walking that day than my longest day of walking in Paris. I first walked northwest along Stresemannstrasse to Potsdamer Platz and then north along the eastern edge of the Tiergarten past the Brandenburger Tor to the Reichstag, the place of the German parliament where a fire helped bring Hitler to power. After about an hour in line, I gained entrance to the building and was allowed access to the roof where I would enjoy the view of the surrounding area and the solar cone which gives power to the building. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to tour any other parts of the building. Afterward, I went back to the Brandenburger Tor where President Reagan gave a famous speech in 1987. Next I walked through the Tiergarten along the Strasse des 17 Juni, stopping by a Soviet war memorial along the way toward the Victory Column where Senator Obama gave a speech to 200,000 people just a week earlier. After exploring the grounds surrounding the Victory Column and taking a break in the shade, I set off for the Tiergarten S-Bahn stop and took that all the way to Alexanderplatz where I visited Neptune's Founatain and the base of a large communications tower, also stopping for a snack along the way. Next I walked southwest to the Berliner Dom and Rotes Rathaus. After touring the inside of the these buildings, I went to Babel Platz, the location of the infamous book burning done by the Nazis during their reign of terror. Then I went south to Checkpoint Charlie which didn't have any of the original Berlin Wall remaining as I had anticipated, but the location did have a museum which described the resistance against and escape from Soviet occupation during and after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Eventually, I went to the northeast part of the city to the Berliner Mauer Dokumentationzentrum which was right next to a long stretch of the original Berlin Wall. By this point it was getting late in the evening and I was quite tired and hungry. Luckily, I was able to find a market where I bought some snacks for immediate use and for the next few days. I ate dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant and then proceeded to head back to the room.

On Saturday morning, I again woke up early and ate breakfast at the hostel. I would travel to the nearby town of Oranienburg that day to see KZ Sachsenhausen, a Nazi concentration camp where, accoring to Let's Go: Germany, more than "100,000 Jews, communists, intellectuals, gypsies, and homosexuals were killed between 1936 and 1945." Needless to say, it was a mostly somber experience and often sorrowful. I was able to see the various methods of containment, the barren grounds, the cramped bathrooms and sleeping quarters, the monument of the Soviets who later used the camp as a detention center, various sytems of execution, the experimental "medical" wards, among other things. It was a really sobering and absolutely worthwhile experience. Afterward, I ate a late lunch at a local grocery store before taking the one hour train ride back to the city center. After dropping off my things at the hostel, I decided for dinner that evening I would jump onto a random train going an unknown direction within the city, get off after a random number of stops, and attempt to find dinner without the aid of a map or locals. Eventually, I settled on a Turkish meal outside one of the stations. After finishing my meal, I returned to the hostel in order to prepare for my final full day in Berlin.

On Sunday morning, after once again eating breakfast early at the hostel, I set out to visit the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, nickednamed "the hallow tooth" by Berliners. Apparently the original building was damaged during WWII and the more modern buildings were build a few decades later. Unfortunately, the church was closed for exploration on Sundays, go figure. After exploring the area surrounding the church, I traveled back to the Tiergarten, this time to first explore the Zoologischer Garten, Germany's oldest zoo. There were a huge number of animals of all shapes and sizes. Particularly enjoyable was the Aquarium which housed creatures ranging from sea crabs to eels to crocodiles to walking sticks. I don't know if it was because I was extremely hungry or because of the spider and centipede exhibits, but at some point I began to get "the chills" and was a little woozy. After getting a snack, however, I felt a lot better and did some more exploring of the zoo, seeing the lions and elephants, among others. Afterward, I took the S-Bahn across town to the German Technical Museum, stopping for another snack along the way. The museum had a variety of exhibits ranging from engines to aircraft to weapons to wind power. After dinner and Mass (with sufficient time in between, of course), I went back to the dorm tired after three days of walking around in a row.

On Monday morning, I ate breakfast for the last time at the hostel, and this time I was joined by a group of German geography students and their professor who were on a class trip to Berlin and the surrounding areas. During my stay at the hostel, I had a few really good discussions with one of the students who had lived in Iceland and India, doing research on organic farming. On that note, I ought to note that during my stay at the hostel I had conversations individuals from a number of different countries including Germany, Ireland, England, and Australia. It was always enjoyable to hear their perspectives. After checking out of the hostel, I took the S-Bahn to the main station and boarded a train for Frankfurt. My last major adventure in Germany was over.

In preparation for my flight back to the US early the following morning, I stayed at a budget hotel that had shuttle service to and from the airport. While the places I had stayed in previously had all been clean and comfortable, this one was much nicer than I was used to. Since the hotel was far removed from the city center, there wasn't much to do in the surrounding area, so I ate dinner, went back to the hotel, watched a movie, prepared my bags, and went to bed early. I had no trouble getting to the airport the following, and although my gate was changed at the last minute, I had no trouble boarding the plane either. On the flight, I spoke to an older gentleman who has traveled the world, working in the grain market and distributing farming equipment. It was an odd mix of emotions leaving Germany. I think that after several weeks of work and travel, I had been ready to come home for some then, but I always knew that while I was there I should try to make the most of my opportunities. After nearly nine hours in the air, I landed in Chicago and was greeted by a joyful father and brother. I was so glad to see them.

Wow. What a summer! I don't think that I could have possibly anticipated, even as the summer progressed, all the great people I would meet, the interesting places I would visit, and the experiences I would have. Being home the last couple of weeks reminded of me how much I missed without my friends and family this summer but also of how much I was able to experience on my own. I am so thankful to have had this great opportunity and to have had the support of such wonderful people back home and abroad. I will be forever grateful to the efforts of the students and staff at the Institute for Steel Construction and Materials Mechanics, most especially those of Professor Lange, whose efforts made this opportunity possible, and of Regine Schneider, whose patience and generosity helped make my living and working in Germany so pleasant and fulfilling. Thank you all for following and supporting me during my experience this summer.