2008-05-11
A trip to Berlin is always worth your while…
… and therefore one of the two study tours of the Sprachschule at Bogenhofen goes to Berlin.
The old and new capital of our neighboring country to the north always welcomes its visitors with a charme and atmosphere of its own. It is a mixture of a world metropolis and the provincial countryside: From the green suburb district of Lichterfelde, where the Sprachschule traditionally accommodates its students and staff at a small hotel that is run by Adventists, it is only a 20 minute ride on the city train to get to the very center of Berlin.
With two vehicles we first drove to the Walhalla, this temple built by the Bavarian king Ludwig I., honouring the great leaders and outstanding personalities of German descent and tongue.
In Berlin we immediately set out to get to the top of the TV tower on Alexanderplatz, it is 1200 feet high and provides a magnificent 360 degree view of the city. Every morning we enjoyed a wonderfully varied and rich breakfast which gave us enough strength to visit all the many sights we were supposed to see. A boat ride on the river Spree, bringing us close by the very centers of political power, was still fun despite the steady rain. Well, for the famous Pergamon altar in the museum named after it and for the splendid Ishtar gate of ancient Babylon sunshine was not needed, was it?
At the symphony orchestra in the Philharmonie concert hall and at the ballet in the Deutsche Oper all those interested in the fine arts got their full share. At the Cecilienhof in Potsdam, where after World War II the future of Germany and of Europe was decided, some car freaks were truly impressed by a Ferrari parked in front of the door :) After a short walk through the gardens of Sanssouci palace we got a guided tour of our Adventist hospital Waldfriede by Gabi Stangl, the hospital chaplain there.
The next day we drove on to Wittenberg, the town of Martin Luther, and visited the Luther house and the castle church. In the afternoon we arrived in Dresden with all its barocque glamour, where Darrell excitedly showed us some acrobatics on the sidewalk. On the last day we passed through beautiful Saxonian Switzerland and finally arrived safely at Bogenhofen.
