Smerliene Rodriguez

 

Phoenix Sea was probably one of the one of the best aesthetically pleasing locations that we visited. The surrounding homes all follow a similar style and have the modern look, which I love. The water in the man made lake was the clearest water I saw during our entire trip. It is not drinking quality, but it is very close. People are not supposed to swim in the lake in order to keep it clean, but we heard a couple of teens in the water. At this point I was recovering from dehydration, but feared the process would slow down because it was very hot. I was really wishing we could just jump in.

We got the chance to walk up this hill and take in the entire scenery. It was breathtaking! The hike up was definitely worth it.

A little back story behind this picture:

Yat (person siting next to me) and I love to take pictures of one another, but our friend Jess wanted to capture both of us at the scene.

I think it actually turned out pretty cool!

 

Much of the time when we learn about Africans, there is conversation associated with negative history, however, at Sanssouci Park, in Potsdam, there are head busts of African men and women that acknowledged Africans a couple of hundred years ago. When I saw the sculptures, I automatically thought they represented the servants that served royalty at that time, but our professor surprised me when he said they were simply being positively represented. Although surprised I was very pleased that  their significance was to basically show appreciation.

 

From my experience, German food consists of meets, specifically sausages. I personally was not a big fan of that, but luckily, right next to our living complex was a a place called Japanese hot dogs which served Japanese styled hot dogs as well as sushi. I ate this about 7 seven times within the 2 weeks we stayed in Berlin. I fell in love with the “Japanese Darling” because it tasted similar to the hot dogs I am used to it, but it was sweet with tater tots! This was hands down one of the best hotdogs I have ever tried and the meal was served with one of my guilty pleasures, French fries! I think this is definitely a place Americans should try if they’re ever in Berlin.

Germany is very big on keeping their industrial history alive. The Nature Park Schöneberger Südgelände, is a great example of how a once industrial area was turned into a park where people can experience nature. I think the idea of adding the grated paths added to the aesthetic but it also added to the experience. Most of these parks always have some kind of climbing feature and so did this one. We got the chance to climb up this metal structure and oversee the area.

This was an interesting side of the park because it felt like it was hidden, although we followed the path. I think it was pretty cool to see all the colorful graffiti and how it added to the character of that specific area.

 After the Nature Park we visited Tempelhof Park where we got the chance to ride the bikes of our tour guides. It was extremely hot, but luckily I was dressed for the thunderstorm that occurred afterwards.

 

My first week in Berlin was a bit difficult. A mix of jet lag and discomfort made it really hard to take everything in. I was glad that the weather was pretty nice. I did not expect it to be as sunny and as hot as it was.

The first couple of days consisted of learning about the history of Berlin which greatly dove in to the history of the Berlin Wall. We went to a few memorials and different locations of where the wall existed and even saw and touched part of the real wall that stands as a reminder of the past.

 At the memorial there is a built structure with pictures of individuals who lost their lives at the site. I was shocked at the amount of children and teenagers that were mentioned and were part of the casualties.

We also visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Seeing the memorial in person, it was quite interesting. I enjoyed seeing the aesthetic of the surrounding vegetation. When you actually walk inside, in between the stones, it is a bit scary, especially in the shady areas. I think it is definitely meant to cause an uncomfortable feeling.

 While walking to other sites, we were able to have a few laughs and express other feeling that were not associated with darkness and sadness. Being able to interact with this fountain and play around in it was something I did not know I needed. It felt like a breath of fresh air.