Our first stop on our trip was cold, snowy Berlin. Our first few days in Berlin we visited the East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall, the Checkpoint Charlie border crossing between East and West Germany, the Reichstag (parliament building) and Brandenburg Gate, another border crossing between the East and West.
We spend another full day of our time in Berlin at Sachsenhausen, the nearest concentration camp to the city of Berlin. Sachsenhausen is still preserved from its use in the 1930s and 1940s, and was a camp primarily for political and social prisoners, as well as Jewish prisoners. Visiting this site was powerful, moving, and very important, and made all of the years of history I've learned about so much more tangible and real.
Our last major stop in Berlin was the Olympic Stadium, built and used for the 1936 summer olympics. Hitler built the stadium and presided over the games during the early years of his term as chancellor of Germany, and the stadium is still used today for sporting events, mainly soccer.
Prague, Czech Republic
After a wonderful (Harry Potter-like) train ride through the snowy countryside from Berlin, we arrived in Prague! Prague was one of my favorite stops on my spring break trip because it was the first time I had been to an eastern european country/city that was so well preserved. The skyline of Prague is filled with spires, castles, towers, and bridges that are far older than the USA- always so interesting to me! In Prague we enjoyed the Easter Markets and beautiful castles-- we even met one of the modern-day princes at the castle/family home he operates!
On our second day in Prague we met up with two wonderful friends from home/AXO, Mel and Lizzie, and took a walking tour of the city. We say the old town and the Jewish Quarter, both well-preserved from their origins 1000 years ago. The Jewish Quarter of Prague is particularly well-preserved, in comparison with other european cities, because Hitler intended for the city to be a "museum of an extinguished race", but the neighborhood is beautiful and thriving today.
Our last day in Prague we enjoying exploring the city further and found the famous John Lennon wall. When John Lennon was killed this wall became a place for young people in Prague to express themselves, their ideas, and their dreams for a county free form communism. Today the wall is still a place for people to express themselves through beautiful art!
Paris, France
Our third stop on marathon-spring break was beautiful Paris! We packed lots of sights into our two days in Paris including: the Louvre, the Orsay Museum, the Eiffel Tower, Easter at the Notre Dame, the Pantheon, and lots of delicious crepes and fondue!
Pisa, Italy
Between Paris and Florence we took a quick pit-stop in Pisa to see the famous leaning tower and take our classic tourist pictures. Even though I've seen it in pictures I was still shocked by the tower... can't believe it'd still standing!
Florence, Italy
After a few hours in Pisa we continued on to beautiful, peaceful Florence. We were lucky to meet up with Mel again (she's studying there) and have a "local" guide around the city. We stayed close to the Duomo/Cathedral and spent our days at museums and eating delicious Italian food! My favorites were the Uffizi Gallery of Renaissance art and seeing Michelangelo's David which took my breath away in person. Mel showed us around some beautiful places in the city and took us out for some absolutely delicious pizza, pasta, and gelato.
Venice, Italy
In our last stop of our trip we spent a few days in Venice. We stayed just off the Grand Canal in the center of town and experience Venice in its true form-- flooded from the rain! The city put up platforms for people (tourists) to walk on around the main square to avoid the nearly foot-deep water in the plaza. In Venice we say St. Mark's Basilica (nearly 1000 years old!) and enjoyed wandering through beautiful, incredible canals.
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