Berlin Blog: Wrapping Things Up

Our last stop on the trip was Berlin, which had perhaps the best tours out of all the cities in my opinion. Germany certainly has a very heavy history and I felt like we finally talked about its history and heard about it while we were in Berlin. In terms of specific tours and activities, I enjoyed the Himmelbeet farm and seeing all of the produce that was grown by the local community. I think utilizing extra land space in this way is critical and should be done in more neighborhoods everywhere. Later we went to the center for displacement. Though I think this museum has a lot of potential, I found it a bit underwhelming. There was a lot of open space for more exhibits, and it felt like there were certainly more displaced groups that could have been included in this open space. I also found it a bit confusing and disappointing that they included a picture of an Indian family during the partition of Pakistan and India because the guide said that a British photographer made the family pose while they were fleeing, which is ridiculous on many levels to me. Despite acknowledging this verbally, the plaque/description in front of this picture did not acknowledge the fact that this photographer took advantage of the family for herself, rather it praised her for her photography and work. I think the museum should either remove the photo, or update their description with the most accurate information. At this point in the trip, I also felt a lot more connected to my peers and felt like I made a lot of new friends whom I hope to keep during my post-grad time.