Berlin

At the time of writing this, I am not sure if it has fully hit me that our three week trip throughout Germany is coming to an end. Berlin is our final destination and having been here for several days now, there is a lot I could say about this city.

Walking around, you feel as if you are in one giant city sized museum. Everywhere you look, there are remnants of the past, from bits and pieces of the Berlin wall to bullet holes in Nazi style buildings. During our walking tour of the city, we were introduced to hidden gems of the cities history by our tour guide. In the subway system, one can read about escape stories from the eastern communist side to the free west. Heroic stories from people who lived in the neighborhood we are staying in. Even unknowingly walking over where Hitler’s bunker was located.

To think that Berlin’s brutal history is young is a hard concept to wrap my head around. Germany as a nation has only been truly whole for less than 35 years. Before arriving, German history seemed like a different lifetime ago, but what I have come to realize and face, is that is it out lifetime in reality.

Today, its remarkable that after only 35ish years, the city has exploded to the massive modern metropolitan center it’s now known as.

I hope to return to Germany in the future. This three week experience has been something I will remember for the rest of my life. I want to thank Professor Wong for all of the hard work he put in to make this trip a reality. Not only did I learn about the political economy of Germany, but I learned many general lessons and was able to have such an amazing experience with both old and new friends.

Ciao for now.

Max Rajendran