Today I wanted to visit Leipzig. I really wanted to see the memorial which is why I stayed another day in Dresden. I read that a day trip was enough time to see the city and I really only wanted to see this one memorial.
The morning started out rough. I was tired after the late evening with everyone last night and I ended up getting lost on my way to the station. I eventually found my way but got set back a little. I boarded the train and managed to make it on the second train in time. Little did I know that my getting lost in the morning was a sign for how the rest of my day would play out.

I ended up staying on the second train too long. I didn’t recognize the name of the stop I needed so I thought I needed to stay longer. Once I realized I was too far, I got off at the next stop which was in the middle of nowhere, might I add. No ticket booths around to buy a ticket. I chased down the nearest person I saw to ask how I could get a ticket back to the city. Apparently when you’re in the middle of nowhere you have to buy it from the guy on the train. You learn something new everyday!

Once I finally get back to where I want to be I step out of the train station and it starts raining. I was just waiting for the next thing to go wrong today. So my day consisted of getting lost (multiple times); not being able to see the memorial; not being able to go to the zoo; and being trapped in the rain. Once the rain subsided I took a nice walk around the city with a currywurst and ice cream cone which made my day complete.

After walking so much for the past couple days, I woke up tired and my body was so sore. My legs were the worst part. I decided to take it easy today and have a rest day. I took my time getting ready and then headed off to the city. This city is filled with so many beautiful churches. After walking around for a bit I wound up in a mall.

After a scoop of ice cream and a little window shopping I headed back to the hostel. So far this has been the best hostel I have stayed at. The atmosphere was like no hostel I have stayed at yet. Everyone is so nice and the people that work here love their job. We were served free dinner which was delicious and I then sat around talking with some of the other travelers. All of us young and eager to meet people and hear about each others’ travels. We all ended up on the river front looking out at the amazingly beautifully lit up churches.

On the way back to the hostel, as the night life was still happening, we stopped to get what is called a donee. A doner is a type of dish of salad and other toppings on top of meat. It was huge and not at all what I was expecting. It was delicious though and a good end to the night.

Today I stayed in Berlin for the day again. I couldn’t get enough of the city and needed to see more. I had my reservation to go to the top of the Reichstag building. I was so excited I woke up early without my alarm. I was on a mission to get to that glass dome no matter what it took.

Since I woke up so early I had so much time before my reservation time for the dome. I headed to the Berlin Wall memorial. Even though the memorial is a reminder of a hard time in the world’s history, it was cool to see and to get a better understanding of what was happening. The history and the stories behind the wall were inscribed on plaques around the memorial.

Even after passing time at the memorial, I still managed to arrive to the Reichstag early. Once the group entered the building we were all squished into an elevator which looked bigger than it was. In order to be most efficient, we all had to fit in to make things go smoothly. I was overwhelmed with excitement as we arrived to the top. The glass dome was in sight!

From the rooftop of the building I could see the entire city of Berlin like I could yesterday on top of the church. We were all given audio guides and the moment I stepped into the glass dome, the guide started. As I walked up the ramp towards the top of the dome the commentary talked about certain points in the city as well as certain buildings and the history. The top of the dome was open to the outside allowing a clear view to the sky. When rain or snow occurs, it falls into an upside down cone shaped catcher. As I walked down the other side of the ramp the commentary began again. In just a short time I learned more about the city than I did in a whole day yesterday.

My last stop in the city of Berlin was the East Side Gallery. I was told I had to go here but I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Once I arrived there I knew exactly what I was going to see. The wall with all of the murals. A good portion of the wall was fenced off due to the cleaning off of the graffiti. The murals were all different and unique in their own way, each with a different kind of message to the public.

Today was another great day in Berlin. I got a late start on my travels to Dresden and I arrived around 11:30pm. It was worth it to stay an extra day to see more of the city.

Today I adventured through Berlin. I walked around the city for a bit to get my bearings straight. I ended up at the famous dome church. The outside was marvelous and I was waiting with anticipation for what the inside was going to be like. As not much of a surprise it was amazing, it was the most amazing cathedral I have ever been in so far. Everything was so elegant from the front of the church to the organ. In this church they had a krypt where they store the coffins of the important people. To my surprise, there were not only normal sized coffins but small ones also for the infants who passed away at a young age. 

The church also had a back stairway access to the outside of the top of the dome. The process of getting to the top included a good amount of stairs, but I was worth it when you got there. The view was unbelievable. You were able to see the entire city of Berlin as you walked around the entire outside of the dome.

Next I headed to the Reichstag building. This building was unique in that it had a glass dome in top in the center of the building. Unfortunately I was unable to go inside today since you need a reservation to go up. I made sure to make a reservation so I can go up tomorrow. 

In around the same area was the Brandenburg gate. The gate was surrounded by fences due to work or some sort of concert so I couldn’t get up close to it, but it was still great to see. In the street which was currently a courtyard because of the fences, there was a lot of people gathered around, children running around and to top it off, there was a man making bubbles. 

The atmosphere in this town was something else. Everyone was kind and the tourism was extreme. I couldn’t get enough so I decided to stay and tour for one more day.​

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Today I had the opportunity to go to Sanssoucci Park. This is simply a park filled with the most amazing palaces in the area. 

The architecture on the exterior and interior of these buildings was extraordinary with so much detail. The decor was so elegant and lavish with gold accent and silk wall coverings. I had been thrown back to the past as I walked through these palaces. Words cannot describe how amazing they were and the pictures don’t do them justice. This has been the best thing I have seen so far I was in awe at how magnificent it was. 

Today was the big day Germany played in the eurocup against Slovakia and everyone was hyped about it. Unfortunately I got caught up at the palaces and only caught a little of the game at the train station. 

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Today I planned to leave Hamburg and head to Berlin. I had to check in to my room at 3 so I was going to leave around 12 or 1. All packed and ready I learned that Nicole and Marian were in Chinese language class, so I decided to stay a little longer to say goodbye.

Their class happened to be having a BBQ, so I went with the family. It turned out to be a great time. It was interesting because most of the kids and parents spoke three languages, German, Chinese, and English. They talked in Chinese and German more so it was hard to follow some of the conversation but they were polite and talked in English also. We had great conversation about Germany as well as my trip and I even got some advice on what to see in Berlin. We ended up playing wii “just dance” which I was not the best at and I felt as if I wasn’t just visiting.

With the upcoming presidential election, everyone wondering about my thoughts on the subject. One of the girls, Carina I think was her name, jokingly asked me who I was going to vote for. As I was expecting to hear this question a lot through my travels I wasn’t expecting to hear it from and 18 year old. I got a kick out of it though.

I wanted to stay another night but the time came and I had to leave. I wasn’t able to cancel my reservation and I wanted to get to Berlin in the daylight just in case something went wrong with the reservation or I was unable to find the location. A couple hours later I was in Berlin. I got settled in and had a relaxing night.

Today I saw the downtown portion of the city of Hamburg, Germany. I was worried in the morning since it was pouring rain in the midst of a thunder storm. Thankfully the rain slowed down and I continued my day as planned.

As I am still getting used to the transportation system as well as the country in general, I was guided by Marian to the train station near their home. Although it was only a short distance, there was no chance of me finding it without my phone which is not working at the moment due to SIM card issues. What did people do without GPS back in the day? I am the worst with directions even with the GPS.

From the train station I would be taken to the central station in Hamburg which puts me in a prime location in the city. From here I was able to catch the hop on hop off city tour bus similar to the double-decker buses we have in downtown LA. I would never take one of these buses at home since I don’t consider myself a tourist in LA, so it was weird to be on one now. It is the most tourist thing you could do but it was a great help getting around the city and being able to see all of the main attractions. The tour guide was kind and spoke in English, so I would understand, and offered to help tell me when my stop was coming up.

I got off at only one stop but from there I walked to see many of the famous locations and buildings in the city. My favorite, was St. Michael’s Church. I wasn’t so interested in the interior of the church but I was intrigued by the bell tower. I was able to go to the very top where the bells for the church rang. At the top the view allowed me to see the entire city of Hamburg. A 360 view that I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else. It was amazing and I was so lucky the rain stopped and the day turned out to be beautiful.

Along my way through the the city I ran into a few fellow Americans and even a Washingtonian believe it or not. It’s amazing how even though this world is so big it can be so small at the same time. All in all I made it home safe and sound, in one piece, by myself on the right train with all of my belongings.

Although I am so excited to arrive in Europe and chomping at the bit to see everything, it simply is not going to happen. I planned to see the city of Hamburg today, however I am so exhausted from traveling. I  am adjusting to the time change. I woke up several times last night thinking it was day, when it was not.

6 pm here is about 9 am at home; a 9 hour time difference.  I woke up around 11am here thinking I needed to sleep for the rest of my life to recover. I went for a walk around the neighborhood to get used to the time change. Not such an exciting day but relaxing was worth it.

After about 20ish hours of travel both by plane and train I made it to Hamburg, Germany around 5pm. With the time change I lost a day and then another day was lost due to train travel. I was lucky to have a home to go  to for the next few days thanks to my extended family.

With all of the excitement of this trip as well as the unlimited free movies I barely got any sleep on the plane. I was exhausted and and all I could think about when I arrived was sleep. I had to push through a couple more hours since the family wanted to take me out for my first German meal. Meat on meat on meat is what was served, different than what I am used to eating but it was still delicious. Although it was only a 20ish minute drive from the restaurant to the home, I was falling asleep in the car. After planning my day for tomorrow I needed to head to bed.

A bitter sweet moment at the airport this morning. Leaving my family and friends behind was a tough thing to do, even though it’s not forever.

It’s funny how leaving can be such a great thing to happen to you but so sad. There were so many emotions running through me this morning; happy, sad, scared, and so much more. I was leaving to go do something I have only dreamed of doing. Traveling  to see the world (well parts of it)  by myself seems so adult-like.    When did I even become an adult? What even qualifies someone to be an adult? Am I even considered an adult I don’t even have a real 9-5 job since I’m still in college. So many thoughts like this running through the my head.

One can only be so prepared for something you have never done before.  The rest is all about learning as you go and hoping that you don’t mess up too much the first time. This means that this whole trip is about learning and taking chances. Being in a foreign environment where everyone speaks a different language than you can be extremely intimidating. Now is my time to take the leap and explore.