Day 3- Berlin

Today we had our grand tour of Berlin- by both bus and on foot. After a restful evening, we had a typical European style style breakfast of meats, yogurt, fruit, toast and jams and then headed out on the bus for a drive around of both East and West Berlin. We were able to get out and take pictures at the Brandenburg Gate before driving by the shopping districts of W. Berlin. We visited the Jewish memorial and all came up with interpretations of what the astract blocks meant, so ask your child what they think it means! Next we went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum, which is located in the American zone of Berlin . This museum covers the years after WWII and had a lot of artifacts (like cars) that people used to escape from East Berlin. A great souvenir shop was right across the street, so our first purchases were made and many of us had an interesting experience at a German McDonalds (different menu!), while Abbey, Alli, and Noah were the only ones to brave the local cuisine. Next we walked to the site of Hitler's bunker (covered over by an apartment complex) before getting some free time to explore and shop. Most students did a great job of using their Euros up on items such as: Pom Pom hats (Danielle, Shannan, Chelsey, Meg), furry hats (Alex), lots of GREAT chocolate, key chains, magnets, Apple soda, Berlin t-shirts and lots of Amplemann products (in East Germany, walk lights are a little green man running and don't walk signs are a little red man with their arms out- they are very cute!). Dinner was at the department store Galleria- soup, fries, and a German meatball with a mushroom sauce, followed by a pudding/jello combination that seems to be quite popular here. For our final activity, part of the group went with Mr. Nolan to the top of the satellite tower I mentioned yesterday. They just got back and said that they got a reduced price because of construction :) Tomorrow we get on the train and head to Warsaw. New country, new language, and new currency! Lots of smiles today - we'll try to keep them coming!