We’re in Berlin! Geez, this city has been through a lot! You wouldn’t be able to guess the hardships that they have faced because now-a-days it is pretty nice. In fact, everyone we met from the different cities in Europe agreed that Germany is the leader of Europe.
When we were trying to get to Berlin, the German railways were having some problems, and we missed one of the connections to our next station, so we had to wait four hours for a bus, and barely made the last train to Berlin. As I said, it’s about the journey!
We were so happy when we got to Berlin, because we were going to stay in the Berlin Marriott! Oh, the joy of Marriott pillows! It was also nice, because we could eat breakfast and dinner in the Executive Lounge. 
For our first two days in Berlin, we decided to do a Hop-On-Hop-Off Tour. We stopped at the Berlin Wall Memorial and learned a lot about the hardships they had to face up until 1989.
After World War II, the Allies occupied Germany and divided it amongst themselves.
The Soviet Union had East Berlin, and the US, UK, and France controlled West Berlin. However, the Soviets were really harsh communists, and a lot of East Berliners fled to the West. The Soviets didn’t want this, so they built a wall dividing west and east.
Many people tried to flee, but few were successful . Some were even shot and killed.
The wall was built-in 1961, and it wasn’t until 1989 that it was torn down. The younger generartion was greatly responsible for the fall of the Berlin Wall. Fragments of it remain, such as the East Side Gallery which we went to next.
The East Side Gallery is completely covered with artwork made in protest of the Berlin Wall. Artists from 21 countries around the world, came to Berlin to paint their feelings and images about the wall. It was pretty cool, and a lot of the things they painted apply to problems today.
The next day, we went to the Topography of Terror, which describes how Hitler came into power and was able to do so many terrible things.
Then, we went to Checkpoint Charlie which was where the American sector of Berlin was. It was one of the four places where you could get from East and West Berlin.
Many people made their escape through here.
After that, we went to the Brandenburg Gate, which used to be the entrance to the city. Now, it is a historic monument, but during the time of the Berlin Wall, nobody was able to access it.
We also walked by the Memorial of the Murdered Jews, which looked very pretty as the sun was setting.
That night, in the executive lounge during dinner, we met a family that is a lot like us. They are on a trip around the world and they have gone to a lot of the same places that we have. You can check out their YouTube channel: FAMtastic4, and meet Rhonda, Mitchell, Autumn and Eden!
The next day, we went to Museuminsel, or Museum Island, which is, well, an island of museums!
We went to the Neues Museum, which was SO COOL!
I learned about Ancient Egypt last year in school, and I just couldn’t believe that I was standing next to ancient artifacts that we learned about from thousands of years ago!
I could even read some of the hieroglyphics! I really liked the Egyptian sarcophagi because I find the Egyptian afterlife rituals very interesting.
We also got to see the beautiful bust of Nefertiti, which has been well-preserved over the millennia (but no pictures were allowed).
The next day, we had some really great bratwurst (famous German sausage) before we left to go to the train station.
Auf Wiedersehn Berlin! Dobrev Den Prague!
Keep Calm and Travel On!
Your Junior Worldtrek Reporter
There were even black tulips!
It was built to honor those who have fought and died for France. I wish that we had something so monumental like that in America. After that, we walked down a famous boulevard called Champs Elysees, which is arguably the most famous street in the world. By the way, the McDonald’s on Champs Elysees and other locations in Paris are way better than America. They have touch screens to order your food and they have different flavors of ice-cream and sauce for their McFlurries. We were getting a little bit tired, so we went to a cafe to get some hot beverages. That’s what a lot of Parisians do. They have a nice break during the day to relax, talk with friends and get some energy. After our break, we did a little bit more walking and then decided to have dinner. We ate at a nice Italian place close to our hotel. The next day, we woke up and took the metro to Notre Dame. I would definitely recommend getting metro tickets, because it makes it really easy to get around. Notre Dame was awesome.
If you don’t know about it, it is a huge gothic cathedral that was first built in 1163. Since then, there have been many modifications to keep up to the religious standards. Inside the cathedral, there are some of the most famous stained glass windows in the world. 
They were very beautiful. Just when we were going to leave, mass began and the pipe organ started to play, so we stayed a little longer. What a treat! 
It was almost time for dinner, and my parents knew the perfect place to go. We went to Julian’s, an old restaurant that has been around since the French Revolution. The artwork on the walls is very pretty, and many of the locals go there to eat. The food was really good, too. I tried foie gras for the first time and like it! Our meal ended at 11:00pm, which is typical in Europe.
I would say that it is the coolest museum that I have ever been to. It is built inside an old train station and it is really big. The museum is quite new, thought the structure isn’t. The train station was built in the late 1890s. The idea to turn the train station into an art museum was proposed in the late 1970s, and after a lot of work, it was finally opened in 1986. My favorite floor was the Impressionistic floor. It had paintings made by some of my favorite artists: Cezanne, Monet, Degas and Van Gough….We saw some of the most famous paintings in the world, including Dance at Le moulin de la Galette by Renoir and the bronze edition of Degas’ Little 14 year old Dancer.
Another cool room was the Van Gough room, which had many recognizable masterpieces, such as his most famous self-portrait and Starry Night over the Rhone.
Did you know that the Eiffel Tower was built for the World’s Fair in 1889 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the French republic. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel has been given the credit for designing the tower, but he collaborate with his assistant Maurice Koechlin, who came up with the design. Many people wanted it torn down after the World’s Fair, because they thought is was an eye sore. Hitler wanted to tear it down, but he never ended up accomplishing the destruction, thank goodness, because the tower is the most visited tourist attraction in the world! Another fun fact is that Eiffel and Koechlin also helped design the structural aspects of the Statue of Liberty. After being mesmerized by the tower, tried some crepes; the sweet and savory kind. At first, I wasn’t so sure about a salmon crepe, but it grows on you! We also had a chocolate crepe, and that was delicious. We made one last stop at the Arc de Triumph, walked down the Champs Elysees and then took the metro back home.
It was 12:30 pm when we got to our hotel, and we fell right to sleep. The next day we packed our bags and headed off to the train station to get a ride to our next destination, Brussels. Au revoir, Pairs!
hdworldtrek 