Here in Germany-a soccer game and history alive

SUNDAY, June 26
We started off to Germany after some more indoctrination about what to expect in Berlin. We broke into our two groups to better know one another and then went to the airport. We waited in line a long, long time...no worries...lots of time. Our flight left an hour after the first group. They were going to Frankfurt first.

We flew through Munich and switched planes to Berlin. After arriving, we were met by one of our lovely guides, Monika. We got our luggage and then waited for the bus. We squeezed, literally squeezed into a long bus...standing, sitting, bracing. All of this with the luggage in tow. Another story to add to this later. Ask.

Our hotel, the PARK INN, is a 40 story beautiful hotel.The best thing about this hotel is that it is next to this huge TV tower, so you can find your way to the hotel easily...from a long way off. It is a small room, but very efficient. However, it has no clock which I find difficult.

What's next? Laura(CO), me, Melissa(NY)

Remember this guy kids? JFK "ICH BIN EIN BERLINER" - this was the place.We were running late, so we met up with our other guide Gerrit and went to lunch and then we were on our way to the FIFA Women's Opening Soccer match
between Germany and France. There was black, red and yellow everywhere. Everyone, everywhere was so excited. Check out a bit of the opening ceremony at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNzWTtxDHu4 The Olympic stadium was so huge and the crowd was so loud. The Opening Ceremony was impressively BIG. For true soccer fans...this game was amazing. For the soccer novice...a wonderful spectacle. I failed to mention that the ride on the train to and from reminded me of my ride back from the base ball game in Tokyo. Packed, no air, yucky.
Slept like a rock...with no top sheet! That is a new one for me. I had not encountered that before.
This is Monika (second from left, next to Laura (CO)) and Gerrit, our other guide. They were marvelous from the very first minute we met them.

MONDAY, June 27
Today started early after a huge breakfast buffet in the hotel. I had my yogurt and granola, however, there were all kinds of regular breakfast foods plus all kinds of salads, cold cuts, breads, etc. You could have made a great sandwich to go! We started out with Gerrit and Monika in our dress clothes to go to meet with the Directorate-General for Culture and Communication. But, our first stop was to here a talk with Prof. Dr. Wolf Wagner. He gave a great talk about Germany Today.
He made many comparisons to the US and discussed changes in Germany culture and politics since WWII. He had a lot of personal incites that were very interesting.

Coffee break with Melissa (NY), Karen(MI), Regina(NY) and Nicole(PA)
On our way there, Gerrit and Monika pointed out the info on all the old, historic buildings we were seeing. We would come back to them later.

After the talk with the professor, we met Ms. Petra Stockl the Desk Officer for Cultural and Media Relations with USA/Canada. I sat across from her and Melissa (from Canada) sat next to her. Lunch was very good and she pointed out that she had chosed the menu. It was a beautiful salad followed by seasoned pork over sauteed peppers and nectarines with palenta. She talked about a lot of interesting things, but we talked a lot about the low cost of food in Germany and health care.
Lunch was over and we headed back over the cobblestones to change our clothes. Along the way, we looked at the spot where the Germans burned over 20,000 books during Hitler's reign. There was a spot where you could look under ground at the empty shelves were the books had been.Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4slCFB-msA

Many of us went to one of the many museums close by. I went to the Pergamon Museum. If I taught World History, it would have been extra awesome.Here is Regina (NY) in the museum. We had a self-guided tour.

We visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The architect Peter Eisenman made this memorial that consisted of a 4.7 acre site covered with 2, 711 concrete slabs arranded in a grid pattern on a sloping field. It was beautiful, scary, and painful. The feelings it was meant to stir...did just that.East Side of Memorial...looking toward the former GDR (German Democratic Republic) East Berlin
The West side of the memorial...the trees...freedom...West Berlin

This really made me sad, confused and scared as I walked further into it...especially when I could no longer see the trees.

Just as a note, during the war this area was the hub of Hitler's administration. In fact, his bunker is nearby. Today, it is covered by a parking lot.

We then visited the Memorial to the Murdered Homosexuals and the Memorial to the Murdered Gypsies. Interestingly, in all three places...if you looked to the building side you saw the former East Berlin and to the tree side, the former West Berlin.

Next, we went on a very "secure" guided tour of the Reichstag building (seat of the German Parliament) with information about the German parliamentary system.The German Bundestag has convened in the Reichstag building since 1999. It was built in the late 19th centure and was the first German parliament to be built. The building, itself, has a beautiful design and many art works. 1% of all of government building funds must be reserved for art work. All that I saw were amazing and being the mother of an artist...I consider myself an expert in what is "amazing." By the way Sami...there are lots of statues. Remember our trip to the Smithsonian Art Museums?