A Week of Goodbyes

Hello friends! 

This past week has been full of bittersweet moments. On one hand, I am very excited to return home. This piece of things means catching up with friends and family, going to Indiana for a family visit and starting my nursing career. On the other hand, I am sad to leave this place. For seven weeks, I have called Poland 'home'. I have made the most of my time here- traveling to two countries and two Polish cities beyond Warsaw, making each trip an adventure. I am writing to you all from one of my favorite little restaurants near Old Town Warsaw, where I am currently having my last meal in Poland- leaving me to wonder, "where has the time gone?" 

In each of these places I have visited, I have been struck with a series of mixed emotions, confronting the past but trying to embrace these countries' efforts in their futures. And with my last week here in Warsaw, I have definitely been trying to process and reflect on these places.

Here's some photos from my last week here in Warsaw:

An evening after work, enjoying the beautiful sunset along the way.

A must- making time for this pizza. A cold piwo and pizza Sardegna. This pizza has roasted walnuts, Gorgonzola cheese, prosciutto, pear and fresh herbs. My mouth is salivating over this! 

A Saturday afternoon walk through Old Town Warsaw.

Walking through the Jewish cemetery in silence- a peaceful place to pause and remember.

The lobby of the library where I got to do research with Melissa during my last couple weeks in Warsaw. The reading room had a glass roof and was a beautiful place, especially one of our after hours trips to the roofs to look out over the city.

August 1st was the anniversary of the Warsaw uprising which is when Poles tried to take Warsaw out from German occupation in 1944. Traditional polish colors- red and white, especially flowers to remember those who were killed in these efforts.

Pawiak prison. This has been reconstructed since the Warsaw uprising but is now the entrance to the museum. Pawiak was at one time where political prisoners among others were sent before being deported to concentration and death camps. Really impacting to walk through here...

My last meal in Warsaw. A margarita pizza and some vino. 

On another note- and to be truly honest, I don't think I will ever be able to adequately process my visits to both Auschwitz and Majdanek. Visiting both of these camps, noticing their differences but understanding their similarities in purpose left a strong imprint of what actually happened there. Besides visiting the actual camps, many of the places I wanted to visit were in some way a part of the Holocaust- which is not hard to find, especially in Poland and Germany. In places like Prague and Berlin, I could have travelled to Sachsenhausen or Terezin, but I also did not want visiting all the camps possible to be something that dictated my trip- I wanted these places to contribute to my experience, not consume it.

And beyond visiting the camps, this museum rat has made short order of going to many different museums in Poland, Czech Republic and Germany. I got to visit the Jewish museum and the Stasi prison in Berlin, the Prague Castle and Lobkowicz Palace as well as the Warsaw Uprsing museum, Schindler's factory in Kraków and Jewish and Chrisitan cemeteries in Warsaw. I, even now am still in amazement of all that I have seen during my seven weeks here. From going to reading books in my classes to actually visiting these places, I am so thankful and blessed by my time abroad and bearing witness to the remnants of this rich history.

It's hard to believe that it has been seven weeks- especially when I say it aloud to myself: 'I lived in Europe for the summer!', among other thoughts. It has definitely been a growing experience for me and transitioning into this next chapter of my life. 

This post I originally started in Poland but am now home in Seattle and spending some time gearing up for what is coming next, like the flip of a switch to now focus on my nursing career. From having little to no expectations of what was going to happen while abroad, I am happy to say that despite certain challenges, it was truly a wonderful time in Poland. When friends and family have asked me "How was it?", I simply smile broadly and say, "It was wonderful! In fact, I truly miss it!" 

From tears that started before I even reached the airport to now being home in this beautiful sunshine, the memories of these past seven weeks will be with me forever, especially since when my flight left Warsaw this past Friday, I whispered out the window, "It's not goodbye Warsaw, it's just until I see you again- someday."

And to the readers of this blog, who have shared in these past seven weeks with me- thank you! It was wonderful to share my heart and thoughts on my experiences and process all of it with you! I look forward to continuing to share my experiences now that I'm home and look to planning my next great adventure- hopefully sooner rather than later. 

Taking Care of Business

Hello friends!

It's hard to believe that I am currently finishing my last full week of work here in Warsaw! Where has the time gone? I will say that it bittersweet to be at this point. In many respects, I am excited to return home, see family and friends and have an iced drink (it has sure been a while since there is no ice here) but I am really going to miss Poland! I have had such an exciting six weeks and had the opportunity to see so much but it has been challenging at times- all of it wrapped up into an experience that has helped me to grow and realize my true love of history. This is also the hard part about being passionate about so many things- I am so excited to start as an RN in high risk OB when I return but I love spending time in the archives and doing what I have been for the last six weeks! Both are passions that I am convinced I will be split between for a while...

This past weekend I had my last 'out of town adventure' where our office at the Family Heritage Center travelled to Lublin, which is a city in Poland about two and a half hours from Warsaw. The office staff going on this trip were: Ola (who I have worked closest with this summer), Szymon (who works between the Taube Center and Family Heritage), Adam (the other American intern), Anna (an intern at the Taube Center) and myself.  Everyone but me headed to Lublin on a travel bus, while I opted for a train since I still had a couple of days left on my Eurail pass I wanted to finish before the end of these six weeks.  I met them at a bus stop close to our hostel, dropped off my backpack and the five of us made our way to Brama Grodzka for a presentation that they had prepared for us.

This is Brama Grodzka. The three windows above the gate are actually all now part of a museum that details Jewish life in Lublin before WWII.

Brama Grodzka is one of the original gates that was an entrance to the Jewish quarter of the city.  It is now a theater and has an exhibition that details Jewish life in Lublin before the war.  Because the five of us are all involved with Jewish genealogical services to some extent, this presentation focused on their archives at Brama Grodzka, complete with an online 3D map that details pre-war Lublin. Having done some GIS mapping for my Cold War class this past Spring, I thought that this was a fascinating insight into how technology can play a key role in preserving history. I think I sat during this whole presentation with my jaw dropped in utter fascination of all that they were showing us.  After its conclusion, the woman giving our presentation showed us around the exhibition: their extensive photo collections and testimonies from former Jewish inhabitants of Lublin.

A little hungry from walking around, we headed to place that Melissa recommended for lunch after her many summers in Lublin spent learning Polish.  I had specific instructions for what to order when there- Melissa told me that their spinach and feta pierogis were absolutely delicious! I paired those with some creamed spinach that Adam and I shared. It was well worth all those greens! So yummy! After all of us finished our meal, we just sat talking in the sunshine, getting to know each other in a much different context, which was really nice.

After a few hours, we decided to get up and walk around the city a bit.  Anna, who is actually from Lublin, had brought a tablet with her from the Taube Center.  She had saved pictures on this tablet of what pre war Lublin looked like. As she took us to these places, she would also hold up the picture in front so that we could see the contrast between pre and post war Lublin. How fascinating to see what was once there and now what stood in its place!

This was really such a relaxing trip, which for this girl that had been roaming around what feels like all over God's creation, was a welcomed changed from non-stop sightseeing.

Our trip to Lublin was a pretty quick one- just an overnight adventure.  We all got up on Saturday morning and headed for breakfast at a little cafe.  One of my favorite things is to share meals with friends- but especially breakfast outdoors in the sunshine. We sat and talked for a couple hours before Adam and I were planning to head to Majdanek, the extermination camp about 10 minutes outside of the city.

Having been to Auschwitz, I felt going here that I was at least a little prepared for what to expect- to a degree.  However, despite that these camps share many of the same traits, there are such vast differences as well. Majdanek was no exception.  We took a bus, a short ride outside of the city, and looked across the street- facing the remains of what used to be a death camp.

Before coming here, I had heard from some people that Majdanek is unlike any other camp in the sense that it is not being preserved as a museum like Auschwitz, but would be closer to continuing its practices much easier than other death camps.  

As you walk up the street to the main gate of the camp, there is a huge concrete monument on the edge. It is known as the Majdanek Monument to Struggle and Martyrdom and was built in 1969.  Here's what greeted Adam and I on our way to the entrance: 

After walking past the monument, we entered through the camp gate.  There is a visitor complex before actually coming to certain buildings within the camp.  Majdanek is unique because out of the 6 death camps used in the Final Solution, it is considered as the most well preserved, especially after Soviet liberation in July 1944.  

The Visitor Complex at Majdanek.

As we entered into the first building, the smells of the humid summer air combined with the remnants of such evils filled you as you took a breath and walked in. Here are some pictures of these first few buildings:

This is one of the rooms where prisoners were stripped naked and rinsed in carbolic acid.  Behind where I am standing for this photo are two huge tubs that used to hold this acid waiting for prisoners to arrive.

The door that shut on the lives of approximately 80,000 people after the Final Solution was implemented at Majdanek between 1941-1942. It was pretty emotional to actually see the door to the gas chambers.  At Auschwitz, in efforts to preserve the camp, I did not see certain things such as this.  And also, because Auschwitz was such a large killing center, the Nazis destroyed the gas chambers to rid the camp of evidence so the only one that I walked through was in Auschwitz I.  A very interesting experience- to mix the sights with such prominent smells...

Walking throughout the gas chamber, you also see remnants of Zyklon- B on blue stained walls- a sure sign that such evil had taken place here. This Zyklon-B gas was used in theextermination of countless men, women and children. 

One of the interesting pieces of the day was that there were crows everywhere in the open fields.  For me, crows have always served as a eerie bird- their noise playing a haunting soundtrack in this reverent place.

Many of the exhibits at Majdanek are in the former barracks of the prisoners.  These uniforms were ones that were actually worn by prisoners interred at Majdanek.

The outside of one of the barrack buildings.

One of probably the most emotional and impactful parts of the day for me was actually walking into the barracks that housed the shoes of the prisoners gathered during Operation Reinhardt.  This entire barracks is lined with shoes from one end to another, with a separate section running down the middle. Walking into this barracks, I instantly was caught by the smell of these shoes that were yet another reminder of the life that once filled this camp. The size of these shoes too- from men and women's feet to those of small children- nonetheless, all lives that were taken too early. 

This is the hallway down the center of the barracks. The light in the back is coming from the doors opened at the other end of the barracks. It was simply a dark room with these cages of shoes filling either side.

As you walk from the barracks area, you reach a street- to the left goes back to the camp's entrance and to the right leads to the mausoleum located near the crematorium. This dome like structure houses the ashes of prisoners that were discovered after Soviet liberation. I don't think that this is something that you can truly prepare for- underneath this dome covering is a huge concrete bowl that houses these ashes without any form of covering over the top of them. All I did was stand there in utter sadness- seeing that this was exactly what the Nazis had set out to do and for these 80,000 people, were successful.  What a humbling and such reverent moment to stand and remember...

After spending some time in silence here, I walked to the crematorium that is almost directly next to this structure.  

This is the exterior of the crematorium from the top of the mausoleum. 

A memorial to the graves of these men and women.  Behind this gravestone is the place where the ashes of these prisoners were deposited after being cremated. 

Inside the crematorium.  This is the dissection table where valuables were extracted from the bodies after they had been gassed.  Often times, it was looking on the prisoners for gold teeth and other precious items that the Nazis collected.

Part of the crematorium. Of the 80,000 prisoners murdered at Majdanek, approximately 61,000 of them were Jews.

After finishing looking through the crematorium, we headed back down the road toward the camp entrance in silence. I was walking next to Adam, but the two of us were spending time on our own-reflecting on what we saw.

We walked back to our bus stop and stood waiting for it to arrive. I was still digesting what I had seen. We arrived back near Brama Grodzka and I tried to catch a bus back to the train station to catch a 4:25 pm train. However, the next bus did not come for approximately 45 minutes.  I had already parted ways with Adam who was leaving on a bus with the others at 5:30 pm. 

I missed my first train but made my way to the train station and waited for the 7:13pm one. After purchasing my ticket, I went and sat in the window sill, looking out the window and truly processing the day. By 6:45pm, my train arrived at the station and I boarded to head back to Warsaw- a little bittersweet, especially being my last train ride, at least this trip.

My final train before departing from the station in Lublin.

While it was a wonderful weekend with friends, despite being short- Saturday especially filled me with many mixed emotions of going to Majdanek.  While I am thankful I went- it is an experience I will never forget.

My Berlin Bucket List

Hello Friends!

It feels like it has been so long since I last shared with you all about my adventures here in Warsaw but there has been a lot going on!

I arrived back from Prague on July 3rd and spent the rest of my week just trying to rest after that long weekend. I was also really excited for the upcoming weekend because it was going to be my first full weekend in Warsaw since I had arrived back in June.  To be truthful, I was just really looking forward to 'staying put' for some time until my next trip.  The weekend was wonderful! Melissa, my roommate here in Warsaw took me to this great pottery store that she loves and we just spent the day together wandering through pottery stores and Old Town Warsaw.  Saturday night, Melissa and I went to this delicious Italian Restaurant, Trattoria Rucola, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner together.  Here are some pics from our dinner: (my mouth is watering just thinking of this food!)

This was our first round with drinks and apps. A delicious pear salad and prosciutto breadsticks, complete with piwo. (That's Polish for beer)

This is Melissa with our second round: our pizzas and some vino.  Melissa is who I have been living with while in Warsaw and she is an absolute sweetheart! We had two of probably the best pizzas! We decided to get two smaller ones and split them.  Melissa ordered a Margarita and I got one with Rucola (Polish for arugula), prosciutto and parmesan.  So yummy!

Sunday morning, the two of us travelled to the Koło flea market.  This was a place that both Melissa and I, along with Melissa's friend, Molly, had gone to my first weekend in Warsaw but the two of us agreed that we would need to go back.  I absolutely LOVE this market! It is full of Polish vendors, culture, and all sorts of fantastic treasures! And of course, my favorite: people watching! Melissa and I still agree that we may need to head back one more time before we both leave Warsaw.

The week itself was kind of surreal. I was not used to staying in one spot for too long as I have only spent a few days each week actually in Warsaw since my arrival.  Otherwise, I was headed to different spots and experiencing different countries and cities! It was a good week at my internship- lots of time spent working on a database I am compiling that lists genealogical societies and Holocaust museums/ education centers worldwide. This registry is an initial step in the process of partnering with these organizations and promoting the work of Family Heritage, the Jewish genealogical center where I am interning for the summer.  In addition, I have also been working on developing educational materials for kindergarten classes at Lauder Morasha, which is a Jewish primary school in Warsaw.

But the most exciting part of the week, at least from my perspective was that I was gearing up for a BIG adventure to Berlin! From a historical standpoint, I had spent my last two years of college, especially senior year focusing on German history- this was just my chance to put these experiences into their physical context.  Another bonus of this trip is that a fellow Carroll student, Jill Harmon, has spent her summer in Mainz, Germany and we were planning to meet up together in Berlin. Knowing that I was heading to Germany, I sent an email to my former history professor, Dr. Glaes, who had spent some time in Berlin in 2011 and asked my roommate, Melissa, what I should definitely plan to see while there.  After an exchange of emails, texts and Facebook messages, I put their notes together and compiled a 'bucket list' of sorts that I needed to see and do while in Berlin.  So, I thought I'd share the list with you; here goes:

1) Visit a beer garden, or a biergarten (if you want the German name) I was told that their was a famous one in the former East Berlin, but really any of them will do***

2) Visit the Stasi Museum/ Stasi Archives

3) Do a Fat Tire Bike Tour of Berlin

4) Visit the Stasi prison***

5) Attend a classical music concert

6) Take a boat tour on the River Spree***

7) Visit the Holocaust Memorial and underground exhibition***

8) Visit the Brandenburg gate***

9) Visit Checkpoint Charlie***

10) Go and see secions of the Berlin Wall***

11) Visit Potsdam and the Potsdam Palace

12) Visit Wansee and the House of the Wansee Conference

13) Tour the Reichstag***

14) Find the church burned during World War II

15) Notice differences between the former East & West Berlin***

16) Eat summer asparagus

17) Visit the Fulbright Commission

18) Eat a German breakfast/ brunch***

19) Have German ice cream, or "eis" as the Germans call it***

20) Order coffee and cake***

21) Do some street market shopping

22) Visit the Soviet Memorial/ Treptower Park***

23) Visit the Jewish Museum***

24) Visit the Topography of Terror Museum***

25) Visit the East Side Gallery***

26) Visit Museum Island***

27) Go to Sachsenhaussen Concentration Camp

28) Ride a boat on the River Spree***

29) Visit the DDR Museum

30) Go to the Flea Market in Mauer Park

Well...if you ask me, it was a pretty packed four and a half days in Berlin! I think I could have easily stayed longer...there was still so much to see! So, that's the list! I should probably explain that all those items on the list with an asterisk are ones that I crossed off while in Berlin and those that weren't are ones that I didn't get too- at least this trip. 

When I got to the Hauptbahnhof (the central Berlin train station) on Friday about 1:30 pm, I was completely overwhelmed. The sheer size of the building is massive, it could truly rival any airport I've ever seen. But I had arrived! The next trick was trying to find my way to the hostel.  Jill and another intern from Mainz were both originally arriving in Berlin around 6 pm, but a text I received alerted me that they had already arrived.  After some work on getting directions from fellow travellers, I arrived at the hostel.

This is Jill and I touring the museums on Sunday afternoon. It was so great to see this girl!

After walking through the glass doors to the hostel, I spotted Jill's big curly hair in the lobby and we both got excited as it was our first familiar face since being abroad! We headed up to the room and I met Jill's friend, Anastasiia, who is from Canada, but is also in Mainz for the summer.  Now, this was my first time travelling with other people since I went to Kraków that first weekend. My past couple of trips where I have been a solo traveller, I have always just kept going after those long train rides, wanting to make the most of the little time I had in these places. However, Jill and Anastasiia both had something a little different in mind as the three of us just took some time to rest in our room, chat and catch up before heading out again. While initially not what I was planning on (my inner self going "we are burning daylight here"), it was really nice to have some time to "breathe" and get acclimated to my new surroundings. Later in our evening, we stumbled upon a German restaurant and decided to have dinner there before retiring to our room and gearing up for the weekend's adventures! 

Saturday morning we all went to breakfast together in our hostel (thank you Nutella!) and made plans for what we wanted to see. Knowing the things on my list almost from memory, I had formulated some idea of the order I was thinking of doing things. I wanted to find out what the girls wanted to do and hoped the three of us could see the city together. The girls really wanted to do a walking tour of the city. They had looked at brochures of different places and found a couple options they thought were good ideas to see the most in the city. Despite wanting to take a bike tour of the city, the walking tour we decided on allowed us to see everything from the bike tour and more! Here are some pics from our walking tour:

Berliner Dom. A beautiful cathedral located on Museum Island.

The Brandenburg Gate. On the other side of this gate is the place where Ronald Reagan stood and delivered his infamous speech, uttering the words, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

The Holocaust Memorial. This was definitely one of the more emotional parts of the trip for me. The memorial is approximately 2700 of these concrete blocks and as you walk deeper into it, you sink further down, unable to see beyond the concrete around you.  In a way, the symbolism of this design also shows how today you can see the results of the Holocaust, for the devastation in its entirety, but while it was happening, you couldn't see beyond your immediate circumstances.

Victory Column.  The three of us had actually gone to the column earlier in the day and climbed to the top but it was also pointed out by our tour guide. It was so beautiful to be able to walk to the top and see out over Berlin in so many directions.

The Berlin Wall moument. This is the longest remaining section of the wall. Our tour guide, Jessica, explained to us that the wall is not being preserved but rather stands as a symbol of the past, a reminder for Germany as it moves forward into the future- essentially saying that while not physically present, this remnant of the wall still stands to demonstrate that unification between the former East and West continues to take place.

This six plus hour walking tour of Berlin not only allowed us to see these places, but also see the site of Hitler's bunker, the Russian Embassy, the Tiergarten, Checkpoint Charlie, the "deathstrip", "Ghost Station" and Berlin's TV tower- just to name a few.  After our tour, we spotted a chocolate factory that we had wanted to check out before grabbing a bite for dinner. All I can say is that it was probably some of the best chocolate I have ever had! Not to mention, many of Berlin's landmarks being fashioned out of chocolate and on display- for instance, the Brandenburg Gate or the Reichstag. Our tour guide, Jessica, had mentioned a Bavarian restaurant in the vicinity of our tour's end point, so we enjoyed a delicious dinner and our feet enjoyed a bit of a break as well.

Sunday morning we ate breakfast and then made our "game plan" for what we wanted to do. For Jill and Anastasiia, this was their last full day in Berlin before heading back to Mainz so the day was really open for what they were interested in doing- especially since I would have all of Monday to continue to explore Berlin. The girls decided on a boat tour- yet another thing I could check off my list and we spent the morning on the River Spree, taking Berlin in from a different perspective. However, we did wonder where the sun had gone as the morning was a bit overcast. The boat tour lasted around three and a half hours. Afterwards, we found a place for pizza (always a good choice) and let our fingertips thaw out a bit- I guess I hadn't realized how chilly it actually was.

Here's the three of us on our boat tour. Jill is on my right and Anastasiia to my left. Despite a colder summer morning, it was so relaxing- especially with our coffee in hand.

As the weekend went on, the bucket list continued to be a fun thing- often dictating our adventures! The girls were always asking, "what should we see today?" or "what do you need to cross off of your list?" This added a little fun to our weekend and the next stop was getting to see the museums that were on our list: this included Topography of Terror, the Jewish museum, the underground exhibition of the Holocaust memorial and the Stasi museum. I figured whatever museums that we didn't get a chance to see on Sunday, I could go by myself on Monday after the girls left on their train.

We ended up going to the Topography of Terror museum and the underground Holocaust exhibition.  First, we headed to the Topography of Terror museum.  The museum is actually at the site of the former Gestapo and SS headquarters (the Nazi Secret Police) with an underground outdoor exhibit among the ruins of the building. 

Here is a picture of the outdoor exhibit, which details Berlin 1933, the year that Hitler came to power. I found it a little interesting that this exhibit is also on the other side of the Berlin Wall. So much history so close together! 

After exploring the outdoor exhibit, we went inside to view the indoor portion of the museum which shows pictures of Nazi officers, details the role of propaganda and the press and also pictures of the Nazis and the Holocaust. It was a very different perspective to walk through this museum, as you are exploring the Holocaust and Nazi Germany from the view of the perpetrators- their smiling faces in most pictures.

Adolf Eichmann at his trial in 1961.  If you are ever looking for an interesting read, I would recommend Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem, where she lends her views on the preceedings. Eichmann  was one of the perpetrators responsible for the deportation of Jews as well as organizing the lgassings that took place, especially towards the end of the war. After his kidnapping, he was tried on fifteen charges in Israel 1961 and sentenced to death.  His photo was one of the first that I saw at Topography of Terror- recognizing his face almost immediately.

This was another exhibit in the museum that detailed the role of the press in Nazi Germany. They actually had Nazi newspapers on a large table that had been distributed throughout the war and you could look through them. While I cannot speak German, I did recognize some phrases that I had seen in connection with Nazi propaganda and the Final Solution.

After spending an hour or so at the Topography of Terror museum, we headed back to the Holocaust memorial to visit the underground exhibition. Talk about an intersting schedule of events- we were just leaving the museum that explored the perpetrators point of view and now were headed to the memorial of the results of what these perpetrators set out to do. While in Berlin, I had felt this eerie, slightly haunting feeling while walking through certain places of the city. This city had been central to Nazi terror from 1933-1945. It was an interesting feeling, one that I am not sure I will ever be rid of when I think of Berlin. But just the thought that you were walking a former hallway where Nazi officials had or standing above the place where Hitler committed suicide with his wife, Eva Braun.

As we waited in line for the underground exhibits, it was very somber feeling to be paying tribute to the six million murdered Jews of Europe. As you walk through the bottom of the memorial, you start by walking through a brief history of Jewish persecution and the Final Solution from 1933- 1945. Next, it weaves you into a room that is completely dark, except the quotes of those who had perished illuminated as if tiles on the floor. The next room gives you pictures of different families throughout Europe and then includes a family tree, telling you which ones were murdered and which ones survived, if any. The final room is completely dark, except for a name on the screen. At times, there were actual testimonies from these men and women and other times, a voice telling you their fate. Either way, they were one of the six million. This was definitely a part in my day that took some digesting- both the first museum and the second. Such evils that occurred in Nazi Germany and such a devastating result of so many lives taken.

The exterior of the Reichstag. This is where we waited before we were led inside by a guide.

View into a garden in the middle of the Reichstag from the top terrace.

Before coming to Berlin, Anastasiia had made reservations for the three of us to tour of Reichstag, the German parliament building. Since our names were on the list, we were able to show our passports and go through security before waiting to be led into the building- a relatively painless process. After entering the Reichstag, I was just amazed at the size of the interior.  While it looks massive from the outside, that feeling translates to the inner parts of the building, especially going up the elevator to the terrace and glass dome at the top.  The three of us were very excited when we finally got to the top as the views out over Berlin are absolutely breathtaking.  Here's some of our photo fun at the top:

Jill and I at the top of the Reichstag.

Inside the glass dome at the top of the Reichstag making our way to the top.

View from one of the corners of the Reichstag rooftop terrace.

After our tour, we set out to find one of the things on the list which was a famous beer garden in East Berlin. After some searching we found it and made our way there. It was a relaxing night along the river, enjoying drinks, dinner and good friends.

This is the back side of the beer garden as we are making our way across the bridge over there.  You can see the outdoor part of the garden next to the green striped wall.

The front entrance to the Schleusenkrug, the beer garden. You went up to the window and order and then take your food to an empty table. They also had a barbeque counter where you could get different German sausages with cous cous, which were really yummy!

Monday morning was brief before the girls headed out on their 11:00 am train. We found a little place to have a proper German breakfast together- complete with a cappuccino and made our way back to the Hauptbahnhof to catch their train. After we said our "goodbyes", I was now a solo traveller.  I wanted to first drop off my suitcase at my hostel for the night before heading out to museums.  My goal for the afternoon was three: the Stasi museum, the Stasi prison and the Jewish museum. 

I had some trouble finding the Stasi museum so I opted to head to the prison for the first 'leg' of the afternoon. The Stasi prison was a true testament to the cyclic nature of the German secret police and how Germany was fueled by a culture of paranoia that existed from 1950 until the fall of the wall. Our tour guide, Kristen explained to us that after meeting former prisoners and hearing their testamonies, she wouldn't talk about their experiences, saying that it "was too painful." Here are some pictures from my tour of the prison:

The prison now serves as a memorial to the experiences of the Stasi prisoners and a reminder of the psychological torment that took place behind these concrete walls. Interestingly, this garden was not planted after the prison became a museum but actually by the Stasi. It was their way of protecting what was truly going on here and saying that "it was not a prison." 

A door to a cell of one of the prisoners. That peephole (red teardrop shape) is where the guards looked in on the prisoners every three to four minutes. The prisoners were not allowed to sit or lie down, they were only allowed to walk in their cells or stand but only in view of what could be seen through the peephole. 

The inside of one of the prisoner cells. When sleeping at night, the prisoners had to remain on their backs with their hands at their side- they were not permitted to deviate from this position.

Where the prisoners were interrogated. The Stasi officers would sit in the red chair while the prisoners sat in the blue one. If it was intended to be more of a "friendly" interrogation, this is how it would take place. Otherwise, the prisoner could be placed in the corner to show that it would be a more hostile setting. Often times, the first interrogations would last 20- 24 hours, depending on the prisoner and suspected offenses.

Imagine a prisoner being behind the bars. This was where prisoners were read their sentences from a man sitting behind the desk (not pictured). It was another form of dehumanization that took place in pursuit of extracting information from these prisoners.

The Stasi prison tour took some time and was really interesting to see another place that I had read extensively about- not necessarily the prison itself, but more of the culture of the Stasi and how they operated- still nonetheless, an impactful experience. Kristen told us too that former Stasi prisoners give tours in German to groups of people visiting the museum and that former Stasi officers who live in the vicinity will come take a tour just to harass these former prisoners, which I thought to be very thought- provoking.

After the Stasi prison, I headed to the Jewish museum. Melissa had told me that I really should make sure and see this place so I was definitely excited to go! From an architectural standpoint, the museum is very abstract, leaving open spaces for visitors to ponder and reflect on what they were seeing. 

One of the first parts of the exhibit details the culture of being Jewish- from appearance to diet and more. It is an introduction that allows people to understand the basics of being Jewish.

The next part of the museum is the underground exhibition that shows three different continuities of Jewish history, which are separated into three separate axes. The first is the Axis of Exile, the second is the Axis of Continuity and the third of the Axis of the Holocaust.  At the end of each of these long hallways has a memorial of sorts- the Holocaust tower being the most impactful for me. It is a huge tower where you are surrounded by concrete walls, it is cold and there is only a flicker of light allowed to come in through the top. I reached my hand out and placed it on the cold concrete wall- said a prayer and stood in silence for some time before leaving.

This is the view from the bottom of the Holocaust tower- only being able to see a small opening of light.

After walking through these exhibits, I was directed to an area that detailed Jewish history, which I found fascinating.  With many different artifacts and pieces to each time period, it was truly an afternoon spent embracing Jewish history. The blessing was that the museum was open late on Mondays, until 10 pm, which worked in my favor as I looked down at my watch and it was already around 9:45 pm. I finished the last parts of the museum and realized how hungry I truly was.

Since I was by myself, I figured it was a good excuse to treat myself to a relaxing dinner and I knew just where I wanted to go, having just the picturesque location in mind. I took a couple of commuter trains and was back at the Brandenburg Gate. 

This is the view from my table. I had a good book with me and just enjoyed a nice evening as the sun was setting over Berlin.

My last German dinner. Currywurst with potatoes. So delicious! After dinner, I had to take a few trains and was back at my hostel, completely exhausted. But what a great last night in Berlin!

Tuesday morning I packed up my suitcase at my hostel and made my way back to the Hauptbahnhof. I had a little time before I had to catch my 1:37 pm train and still wanted to cross a few things off of my 'bucket list.' By this time, I had about 4 hours before my train. I wanted to have a German breakfast again (just because it was so good) and also have coffee and cake. 

It was a pretty busy morning to say the least but I managed to do all of it- despite getting distracted at the Birkenstock store. I even made sure to enjoy cake and coffee near the Brandenburg Gate at Cafe Lebensart. While a short time, it was still one of those German things I was determined to do while there! I have to say I am so thankful that I made time for it! Just look at it:

A moist buttercream cake with a delicious cup of coffee. Thankful I made time for #20 on the list!

After finishing up my last sips of coffee, I hustled to the Hauptbahnhof to buy a few postcards and purchase my train snacks.  Berlin also has the most delicious train snacks- namely train sandwiches, my favorite being: a baguette with prosciutto, argula, tomatoes and parmesean cheese. I even bought an extra so that I could have one for dinner that night when I got back to Warsaw.

After arriving back at Warsaw's central station later that evening, I just thought to myself: "I did it!" Crossed off so many things on my 'bucket list' and loved every second of it! It was a weekend filled with meeting a new friend and catching up with an old one, many new experiences, visiting beautiful places, and of course, delicious food! For the history girl in me, I am so thankful that I had the chance to go to Berlin and explore this beautiful city! It is truly a place that continues to embrace its past but looks to new beginnings in its future! What a wonderful adventure...