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The next day we tried again with the train and it worked perfectly. Well almost! The trip there was perfect but on the way back the next adventure began. They had a situation where World War II reared its head 60 years later. There was an unexploded bomb from that time near a track and it delayed everything for the day. They then moved our train to another track but didn’t announce it until it was seconds from leaving and we could not get there in time. We were now stuck in Berlin and no tickets to get home to Leipzig. We discovered another train leaving and we just jumped on and took our chances. When the conductor came around, Walli spoke with them and was very powerful in her persuasion and they allowed us to travel with no additional tickets or cost. We made it home but an hour later.

When we got to Berlin it was wonderful to see the size of the city. It has over 4 million people and is truly a national capital in sight, sound, and feel. We decided on a tour bus which is something I have never used because I love to walk and explore, but we decided to see the highlights and lay plans for our next visit. We saw the church dedicated to Kaiser Wilhelm I. It was a once beautiful building that was almost completely destroyed by the bombs in World War II. It stands as a monument to peace. We than visited Checkpoint Charlie and had a chance to visit the museum dedicated to the Berlin Wall and the eventual removal and reunification. It was a strong reminder of tyranny and the effect that it has on people. We had a chance to visit the GDR museum in Leipzig and this was a continuation of the theme. The resilience of the people is amazing and it was great to see the courage and bravery of the people of both Germanys’ during this time. I can’t tell you how it makes you feel to see the piece of the wall that is still standing and the feeling that the separation of families, communities, and a country elicits. This seems similar to how the country must have felt during the Civil War but that time is so far removed it is hard to grasp but this is still a fresh wound.

The next stop was the Brandenburg Gate and it is one of the most impressive sights we have seen so far. It is a powerful sight as you approach and to think that for many years much of it was obscured by the Berlin Wall. It was also a chance to see the American Embassy that is there as well. The students had a chance to see some street performers that were amazing and some dancers that that were as good as I have ever seen. We spent the rest of the time walking back to the train station and had a chance to walk by the Reichstag Building. It also has an air of nationalism that was evident in the people as they walked around. It must have been the same feeling we had when we visited Washington DC earlier this year. The trip back was uneventful and we had a great time. Tomorrow we will travel to the Czech Republic and visit the city of Prague.  I will not put up any pictures of this stuff until I return so please look for them when I get back. We finished the day with a wonderful dinner at a restaurant that sits on a beautiful lake. You would never guess that this lake was a strip mine for brown coal during the time of the GDR and has been rehabilitated. It now stands as an example of good environmental practices that they have taken since the reunification.  Berlin was a great day and I would love to spend several days there. I did notice a decided upturn in tourists traveling here and in Prague. It was a stark difference to what we encountered in Achern but it is important to see these wonderful things to really get a full sense of Germany. Germany is a dichotomy of rural and city life and it really makes it seem like we have enjoyed that full experience. If you travel to Limon in Colorado and then Denver you will have a different experience and I think we have been lucky to have both.

Our next adventure was to get from Achern to Leipzig and to our next destination. We had tickets for Monday morning and were going to have to make several transfers with a lot of luggage. Unfortunately, we missed the first transfer in Karlsruhe and this made the adventure last one hour longer. We were lucky to be met by our friends Walli and Kai. They have a beautiful flat in Leipzig near the train station. They have three daughters, Eliane, Alina, and Christina. They have an exchange student also staying with them from France. There were ten of use but we all fit very comfortably and everyone had their own space. We had a great adventure getting here but we are glad that we are here in Leipzig.

Our next adventure was to visit Berlin on Tuesday. We had to take a train from Leipzig to Berlin. We all got on the train and waited for it to start. We waited, and waited, and waited. After over an hour we decided that we would not have much time in Berlin so we decided to try the next day and took Tuesday to spend in downtown Leipzig and explore the community. We had a great time and saw things that were mind boggling. We had the opportunity to walk inside the same church that Bach worked for 27 years from 1723 to 1750. It was awe inspiring to know that we stood on the same ground as someone with that kind of talent and to visit his grave. The church is another exceptional example of the churches of Germany. We also had a chance to visit the church that was the starting point of the resistance and the movement towards the reunification of Germany in 1989. St. Nikolai is a beautiful church but it stands as a strong focal point to the importance of freedom and connection for the German people. We also had a chance to visit the tallest building in Leipzig and venture to the top observation deck. Have I mentioned that I am afraid of heights? It was wonderful to get this kind of view of the city. They have a huge greenbelt that runs the length of the city and is several kilometers wide and several hundred kilometers long. It is a chance to see a forest and wildlife inside of the city.