Highway to Hell

This has been one crazy week! As I mentioned last time, everyday has been filled with different activities and things to look forward to. On Monday, instead of class, we went to the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg. Basically, it is like a theme park with thousands of little kids running around. Overall, I wasn't super impressed, but the actual factory tour was really cool, even though it only lasted 40 minutes. After the tour, we had a couple hours to ourselves, so we went into the Bugatti exhibit, where we saw this mirror-finished Bugatti. It was amazing!

Mirror finished Bugatti at the VW Autostadt

There was also a car museum, where I found Matt's future orange Lambo. Although I'm sure his will be much cooler! :)

After the day in Wolfsburg, and a couple of missed trains later, Zach, Lindsay, and I made bratwurst pasta here, and did some homework. Nothing too exciting because we had to prepare for our epic night of AC/DC!!!

Which brings me to Tuesday...what an adventure!

Zach, Lindsay, and I had bought tickets for the concert online last Thursday. Another kid from our group, Alex, had told us about it because he had bought a ticket for himself months ago. We asked our TU Berlin program director if we could have the tickets shipped to her office, and she had no problem with it and filled out all the forms for us. Monday rolled around and no tickets had come yet. We all just crossed our fingers for the mail Tuesday, but when Zach checked online the ticket status was "undeliverable address." 80 Euro down the drain.

Or so we thought.. Zach hunted down our German teacher, and had her call DHL to track the tickets back to a DHL warehouse about an hour train ride outside of Berlin. Using his hand drawn google map sketch, he found the warehouse and the only English speaker inside, who helped him find the tickets at 4:30pm. The concert was scheduled to start at 6.

Luckily, Alex told us there were 2 opening acts, so we took our time and had italian carry out. Then we left for the Olympic Stadium around 6pm, followed the enormous crowds of old men with black tshirts on, and got there around 6:45, which was plenty of time to find shirts, food, and a good spot on the floor.

Olympic Stadium Berlin


Zach and Lindsay headed down to the floor


Us on the floor surrounded by crazy German fans

AC/DC came on around 9pm, and the place went crazy! Their first song was Back in Black and it was a great start. They played all their really popular songs, and only about 3 I had never heard before. Their encore was Highway to Hell, which was the best song of the night. I took a video for you Dad! :) We were dancing and singing all night long, and unlike all of our previous experiences, the Germans around us loved us! Be sure to check out the background people in all of these photos. They are pretty hilarious!

Excited for the concert to start!
Check out tall German giving us bunny ears.


Zach and I


Those old men weren't supposed to be in the picture. haha

First song of the night!

Soo excited! :)

So many people!

Highway to Hell encore! Amazing!

Crazy old German AC/DC fan after the concert! hahah

The concert ended around midnight and after pushing our way onto the train, we made it home safe and sound around 1:30am. That was definitely one of the best nights we've had here so far! Lindsay and I both slept through our alarms the next morning, but our teacher was really cool about it because he was at the concert too! :)

After school Wednesday, we were supposed to go to the Germany Fan Mile for the World Cup soccer game, but we fell asleep from 5-8!! The gates to the fan mile were only open until 6:30, so we ended up watching it at our favorite restaurant down the street. All of the people who went to the fan mile said it was crazy! There were thousands of people there all dressed up and singing songs. They even got to see an impromtu concert by Jason DeRulo! (I know Camryn, I'm so dumb for not going!) He sang two of my favorite songs! UGH! I guess that has taught me to never sleep through any opportunity here, because I am bound to miss something good! Secretly, I think the nap was well worth it though.

So that brings us to today. We had class all day and then Lindsay and I went shopping for replacement coats for Zermatt at the North Face store on the Ku'Damm. Then, our program director set up a night at a German swimming pool and sauna. We went to this huge complex that had volleyball courts, water slides, multiple pools, a gym, and over 20 saunas, all indoors. We started out by playing beach volleyball on the indoor courts, which was really fun even though I made a fool of myself, per usual. Then Christina, our German student advisor, wanted to give us the FULL German sauna experience. Interesting, to say the least. Lots of naked people running around. Completely comfortably. Crazy. Oh well, I guess it's their culture.

Later we went swimming, and we got back home around 11pm. I just finished some homework and should be packing, but I'm going to go to bed! :) We have class until 4 tomorrow, and then we leave for Zermatt, Switzerland at 7pm! We stop in Frankfurt, Basel, Visp, and then Zermatt. It will take approximately 14 hours, but we'll get there eventually, and save money on a hotel for the night, right!? We leave to come home late Sunday, and get back Monday morning just in time to walk from the train to German class. Exhausting, but perfect. Should have lots to update on Monday, if I'm awake at all. Until then, I love you guys and really miss you all. Have a great weekend! Auf Wiedersehen!

Work Hard, Play Hard

Happy Father's Day Dad, Bill, and Grandpa!!!
Missing you all lots today!

This past week was the first week of our engineering class, which has really put a damper on our time to explore Berlin. Regardless, we found time to have some fun! On Tuesday, we went to a Coheed & Cambria concert at this little concert hall in Berlin. We got there an hour early to get a good spot, and there were only like 20 people there. They are pretty well known in the States, but I guess not here. Brian and Alex, kids from our group, were really excited to be so close because they are huge fans and were singing every word to every song. A couple of Germans yelled at us for singing too loud (they can be such stiffs sometimes!), but we also made a couple friends from TU Berlin, so it all worked out. Lindsay, Zach, and I left a little early and went downtown to eat dönner sitting by the river, and we got home around 12:30. It was an awesome night! Not bad for a Tuesday...

Colin and Brian in the 2nd Row during Coheed & Cambria

Alex's new German friend and Alex at the concert

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty low key nights. Lindsay and I made dinner here, definitely took a nap, and did homework. We have class from 8:30 to 4 every day, so by the time we get home to Wedding, we don't feel like doing much. On Thursday though, we got a 3 hour lunch break, and Linds and I went to the major shopping street a couple blocks away from school called the Ku'Damm. There are a ton of American stores, but also some cool European ones. Mom, this is where you guys need to stay when you come, although I'm warning you it's dangerous! :)

Friday we had class in the morning, and then a Germany World Cup game was on, so naturally, everything here stops, and we watched the game with the entire TU Berlin Computer Science and Electrical Engineering department. Party animals! haha, right. For engineering class, our U of M group was split up into two projects, a Computer Science project and an Alternative Energy project. Of course, the alternative energy group was taken to a beach bar in downtown Berlin for the Germany game, while we sat in the computer lab streaming the game from FIFA.com. I love being a nerd.

We decided not to travel anywhere this weekend, so after the game, we went home, got carry out Italian, and got ready for the night. Lindsay and I were in charge of finding the club for the night, so we looked online and found a top 10 list for Berlin. We gathered the group to go to the club that was number 1 on the list we found, called Knaack, which was about a 20 minute train ride followed by a 15 minute walk, and when we got there, there was absolutely nobody there. Total bust! Everyone was kinda upset, and we will never live it down, but at least we will never be required to plan our nights ever again! :)

Lindsay and I's self-timed pic before our lame night in Berlin

Saturday was a much more successful day. Although we didn't do really anything Friday, we got home late and went to bed around 4 (after Skpying with my mom, Casey, Camryn, and Bill during their Dearborn tornado) so we didn't wake up Saturday until around 1pm. When we finally got up, we went downtown and bought train tickets for our trip this coming weekend. Then, Zach, Lindsay, and I found a Starbucks downtown (yum!) and had breakfast/late lunch? in front of the Brandenberg Gate. Since we were so close to the Ku'Damm, we went back again and shopped at KaDeWe! That is a huge shopping in the center of what was once West Berlin, which has everything you could ever imagine. Think Harrod's of London, but much cooler.

KaDeWe on the Ku'Damm

After shopping, Lindsay and I went to the gym, got ready for the night, and a group of 4 of us went to dinner at a really nice Thai restaurant. Then Adam and Brian met us at a dance club THEY picked out, called Matrix, and it was awesome. It was great music and just a fun atmosphere. Someone stole our jackets from the coat check though. UGH! We lost track of time, and left the club around 4:30 and when we got outside, it was completely light outside. I made everyone stop and take a picture, but they wouldn't go to a nice background, so it really doesn't do it justice as to how light out it was, but that's okay, you'll get the idea. :)

Lindsay, Zach, Kevin, Me, Adam, Brian at 4:30 am

By the time I got in my room, it was 6am, and the sun was shining directly in. I had to sleep with my sweatshirt over my eyes. Today I woke up at 1pm again and we've been hanging out at home all day, with a quick field trip for a chocolate croissant. We need to rest up for our crazy week ahead! I can't wait! Here's the schedule for the week:

Monday: All day tour at the Volkswagen production plant in Wolfsburg. I'll be thinking of my Uncle Ronn the whole time!

Tuesday: AD/DC CONCERT AT THE OLMPIC STADIUM BERLIN. Three of us managed to get standing floor seats. I cannot wait!

Wednesday: Last first round World Cup game for Germany at 8:30pm. They set up a huge "Fan Mile" with TV screens right by the Brandenburg Gate.

Thursday: REST REST REST

Friday: ZERMATT, SWITZERLAND! Five of us are going to this little ski-chalet town in Switzerland for the weekend. We are leaving at 7pm from Berlin and not getting there until 9am on Saturday. We have to take 4 different trains to get there, 1 with a 2 hour layover, then a 45 minute layover, and then another with a 4 minute layover! It is going to be nuts. Since we only need to pay for 1 night, we sprung for a nice hotel instead of a hostel, thank God! You can take a train to the top of the mountain and ski on a glacier or hike and bike. We're still trying to decide what we want to do when we get there because there are so many amazing options! It's supposed to be only in the 40s and 50s there, so I better get a replacement coat fast! It is going to be the quickest, most exhausting trip ever, but it should be totally worth it.

Zermatt, Switzerland in 5 days!!

So after this week, I hope I have lots to fill you guys in on! Gotta keep busy to keep from missing you all too much!! Love you guys!! Auf Wiedersehen! :)

Potsdam, Prague, and Pictures

We got home from Prague at around 9:30 on Sunday night. Even though we have only lived here for a week, I felt happy to be back, almost like I was back home. Mind you, my home will always be Michigan, but for the next 7 weeks, this is what I've got, and I think it's really cool to have that feeling someplace else that I wouldn't have expected. But I guess I should rewind a couple of days and start with Friday morning with our trip to Potsdam.

Potsdam is this really cool old city about 30 minutes outside of Berlin. It is right on the edge of where West Germany and East Germany met. We started outside of the city looking at a bunch of palaces and gardens. Then we went into the city and saw the Dutch Quarter, which is like 5 blocks of a mini-Amsterdam. Overall, I was really impressed with the city and am definitely planning on taking my family back there when they come in 6 weeks! :) I'm sorry to go short on Potsdam, it really was awesome, but after our weekend in Prague, it just seems anticlimactic.

Lindsay and I in front of Fredrich the Great's Palace in Potsdam

We kept telling our tour guide that we had a train to catch to Prague, but he really needed to get all of his facts out, so he kept us there until 3. We had to run to the train stop in Potsdam for the 30 minute ride back to Berlin, and then run to our apartments and grab our stuff to head back on the subway to the main train station to leave for Prague by 4:30. Of course the boys hadn't even packed yet, but somehow everyone made it there, with time to spare for snack shopping.

The train ride was beautiful, and sufficiently comfortable. We had our own little cubbies, each with 6 seats and we followed along the river, passing little towns and castles the whole way. We got to Prague around 9:30pm and got completely lost.

Zack and Lindsay lost in Prague

We didn't get to our hostel until about 10:30, and when we finally found it, the street wasn't lit at all and the hostel's sign was made with Microsoft Word, printed, and taped to their front door. Hostel Friendship it was called, and I guess you can't expect much for 8 Euro a night. As we walked through the dark corridor, Lindsay and I were whispering plans of ditching the group for the Best Western we saw glowing in the distance and how our parents would kill us if they knew we were staying here. All was well though when a smiling Czech girl opened the door and showed us to our 2 gigantic rooms, one with 12 beds and the other with 8. We had an entire floor to ourselves with 3 bathrooms and a kitchen. It was no Peninsula, but for the 10 hours we spent there, it was money well spent. The group got real close, real fast living in that close of quarters for 3 days. That night, we went out to little downtown area called Old Town, and found a little restaurant/bar and hung out there for most of the night.

The outside of Hostel Friendship in Prague
It was even more scary at night.


Benny, Lindsay, Me, and Zack before dinner the first night


Zack, Kevin, and Ian at the bar in Prague

On Saturday, all of us split up into smaller groups and did our own things. My group went on a self-guided tour of the city! We walked all around the famous Old Town area, and then up to the castle on the other side of the river. The walk was about 2 miles completely uphill, but the views were well worth it.

Old Town Prague


Lindsay and I in front of the castle


Some of our group at the top of the hill
Downtown Prague in the background

After walking for hours and hours, we decided to go back to the hostel and get ready for the USA and UK World Cup soccer game. As we were walking around earlier, we noticed a huge television screen and tents being set up in the middle of the square so we decided to head back that way and check it out. The game was at 8:30pm, so we got there around 8 and found a seat right in front. As game time grew closer, the Center Square of Prague was flooded with people, many dressed up in ridiculous costumes, with flags draped all over them. They were singing songs and chanting cheers and jeers at one another. What an amazing atmosphere! I have never seen anything like it. It was kind of a pinch me moment, like hey, I'm in the middle of Old Town Prague watching the world cup game with hundreds of crazy Europeans. If you're going to watch soccer, that's definitely the way to do it.

Zack, Lindsay, and Adam before the game started


Some of the World Cup crowd in Prague

Some of the group watching the game


The World Cup Fan Park in the Center Square at half time

The game ended up being a tie, so there were no fights and not too much celebration. Afterward, we decided to go to this club a couple of Americans we had met the previous night told us about, which played all American music. When we got there, the bar was completely packed, shoulder to shoulder, with middle aged Europeans. We kind of stood out. They were all on the dance floor screaming American songs and dancing, so we all joined in. It took awhile, but the crowd warmed up to us and before we knew it, we had all the adults singing and dancing to Beyonce's Single Ladies with us. So great!

Us dancing to Beyonce with all the European adults
If you see anyone under the age of 40,
they were probably in our group!
My favorite is the guy in the far
background with the grey hair.

Sunday we woke up and got breakfast and then continued to sight see until our train left for Berlin at 4:30pm. This train wasn't quite as nice as the other, but was still comfy enough to sleep and play cards, which we did the entire ride home. When we got back, it was half time of the Germany/Australia World Cup game. The main train station was packed with fans and we were surrounded by them on our way home as they headed to their next parties. We watched the second half at our favorite Italian carry out restaurant right down the street. Germany won 4-0, so everyone went pretty nuts. There were fireworks going off right outside of my window that people were blowing up from the courtyard below. That was actually pretty scary. After that cooled down, we could still hear people yelling and honking on the streets. That was only the first game, and they were expected to win. I can't even imagine what games to come are going to be like!

Anyways, yesterday and today were our first full days of school, so the fun has settled down a little bit. We have spent the past 2 days soldering resistors and capacitors to a motherboard. It's pretty much as exciting as it sounds. Tonight we are planning our trip this weekend. We're debating between Vienna, Innsbruck, or Zurich, which are in Austria or Switzerland. We are going to a Coheed and Cambria concert Wednesday night too! I'm sure there will be more to come even with school going on in the background. :) I really miss all of you guys so I've gotta keep busy! Love you! Auf Wiedersehen!

Not exactly a fun day..

Today we had class in the morning, which consisted of walking around the streets of Berlin and going into different stores asking where things were. It was actually a pretty fun class!

Then we went to the Concentration Camp Sachsenhausen, which I really can't describe in words, so I'm not going to try. I think everyone should visit a place like that once in their lives, and mine was today.

After a somber afternoon, Lindsay and I just stayed in and had bread and chocolate for dinner. We have just been doing some homework and laundry. In a couple minutes, we will be having a Prague fashion show to strategically plan our outfits for the weekend so they fit in backpacks. That could be difficult...

Before we leave for the weekend at 4pm, we are going to a city just outside of Berlin that is supposed to be really cool called Potsdam for another walking tour with Nick.

No internet at the Prague hostel this weekend, but I'm sure I'll have a lot to update about the weekend on Sunday night (after the Germany World Cup game, of course)! Hope you all have a good one :) Auf Wiedersehen!

Sehenswürdigkeiten (sights)

I am officially a TU Berlin student! We got our IDs which work as train passes and meal cards. Unfortunately, we can't keep them, unless we "lose" it, but then it will cost me 50 Euros. I think it's worth it..

My TU Berlin student ID

Yesterday morning was our first language class at TU Berlin. After class, we had 2 hours to go to lunch before we were to meet again for our walking tour around all of the Berlin sights. So, a group of about 7 of us went the the Zoo Beer Garden, which is about a 5 minute walk from our classroom. Lindsay, Zack, and I decided that we needed to get the full Biergarten experience, so we ordered "ein Halb" of their house beer and brats in a roll.

Zack, Lindsay, and I at the Biergarten by TU Berlin

It was so good! Needless to say, the walking tour was much more fun after that lunch... Just kidding! :) The walking tour was great though! We saw all the main sights that Berlin has to offer and our tour guide helped us with places to go back and visit. It lasted 4 hours, so my feet were dead afterwards, but it was totally worth it. The best was to describe it is probably through pictures, so here it goes!

First, we started by our school and then took the train to Hackescher Markt, which is like a really nice area to eat and shop in. Then we continued to Museum Island, which is an island in the middle of the city that has about 5 museums on it.

The Berlin Dome on Museum Island

Then we walked all the way down Unter den Linden and saw Bebelplatz and the memorial to the Book Burning that took place there during the Nazi era. At the end of Unter den Linden, we saw the Brandenburg Gate and walked under it to a memorial for the murdered European Jews of WWII. The Holocaust memorial is about 3000 steel blocks, all separated along straight lines, but cut at different heights and angles. You can walk through all the rows of blocks. The tour guide said that the artist didn't specify any symbolism or meaning to the art, it was left for the viewer to decide.

Book Burning Memorial

Lindsay & I at the Brandenburg Gate

WWII Murdered European Jews Memorial

After these, we walked to some of the remains of the Berlin Wall. It wasn't the same part we saw the other night in the train station, this was more of a touristy spot, but was still really interested. The entire way there our tour guide, Nick, told us all about how and why the city was split, and stories of how people snuck over to West Berlin. Even though it was completely closed off, the West seemed to be the place to be! On our way to the wall, we stopped at the site of Hitler's bunker, where he killed himself at the end of WWII. It is honestly in the middle of a parking lot, and cars park over it on a daily basis. Nick said that the Soviets couldn't destroy the walls of the bunker, so they are still underneath, weird to think about huh? There are apartment buildings all around it, and there is only one little marker. We were the only people there. Nick said they don't mark it out because the government doesn't want to acknowledge places like that, but rather remember those who suffered.

Hitler's Bunker, underneath those 2 parking spots

All of us on top of it

Our tour guide, Nick, in front of the Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall

There is so much history here! I think that is one of my favorite things about this place. I still have so much more to learn though.

After the tour, we napped and then four of us went back to the Markt stop for a late dinner. We found a random Russian cafe and ate there at a really cool table in the window, so we sat around there until about 12:00.

Today was a tour at an engineering firm called IAV, which is also located in Michigan. We looked around at their engine testing facilities and then we got to test drive electric MiniCoopers! Pretty awesome! When you take your foot off the gas, the car stops on its own, which took some getting used to. IAV took us to lunch at this warehouse with a bunch of really expensive cars that people can use for 60,000 Euro a year.

The bus we took to lunch, hahah

The restaurant we ate at

I'm sure there's more, but I am so tired, so I am going to take a nap before dinner tonight! We're planning a low key night, nothing too special. Tomorrow is class and a tour of the Concentration Camp Sachsenhausen. Friday we are going to Potsdam early, and then leaving for a weekend in Prague!!! I'm sure there will be much more to come soon. Missing you guys tons!! Auf Wiedersehen!

Beaches in Berlin

On Sunday, we started the day off with brunch at the café on the corner of our street and then went to Wannsee Beach, which was about a 45 minute train ride. As you get further away from the center of the city, the houses get nicer and nicer, which made the train ride really interesting. We got to the beach around 2. It looked like a lake you would find in Michigan but there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of people there.

Wannsee Beach

The bathing suit fashion there is extremely interesting. I think the main goal for women is to wear the least flattering, tiniest bikini possible. On the other hand, for the guys, they wear swimsuits with weird pictures in places that there shouldn’t be pictures. (see picture below)

Berlin beach fashion

Some of the guys in our group went down the beach to throw the Frisbee around, and wandered a little too far down into the fenced off nude beach. They came back so fast! It was hilarious! We just talked, laid out, and hung out there until around 6pm, when we headed back to Wedding and ate dinner at a little Italian carry out place. We had class really early today, so we just went to the café for a little bit and then talked in our room and went to bed.

Today was our first day of German class, which was held at the Berlin Zoo. Our teacher is really nice, so we just walked around looking at die Elephanten, die Eisbären (polar bears), and die Giraffen. Our “homework” was to talk to 6 German people and get directions to different places, writing down their answers. Every time I would start to speak in German, they would answer in English. Embarrassing! At least I tried.

The whole group at the Zoo

The Berlin Zoo's famous polar bear Knut

After that we went to go look at TU Berlin’s campus, which is beautiful! We ate lunch in the school cafeteria, which was intimidating to say the least. They just do everything differently and we are always wrong. After a little break, we then went on our own private dinner cruise around Berlin with the program student advisors and professor. They made us awesome food and were stocked with Berliner Beer and nice red wine. We cruised around downtown Berlin drinking with our professors, too great!

Lindsay & I with our adviser Dawn on the Dinner Cruise

Our friend Benny told us all about the Berlin wall and what it was like here during the years right before and right after the wall. He grew up in West Berlin, which was like the liberal part of Berlin that was encircled and closed off. He said he can remember the day the wall came down like it was yesterday. It was pretty cool hearing a first hand account.

Now I am about to go downstairs and meet some of the group to plan our Prague trip this weekend! We are leaving on the train Friday afternoon after our visit to a city just outside of Berlin called Potsdam. It should be a really good time, and I just can’t wait! That’s all for now, Auf Wiedersehen!