At about 10am local time we landed at Berlin Tegel Airport. After collecting our suitcases, we boarded a coach which then took us to our base for the next four days, the Acama Hotel. We left our luggage in the hotel and made our way to Potsdamer Platz where we bought food and shopped for a while. After this, we went on a walking tour to see some of the main attractions in Berlin. We had a tour guide called Sonya providing information on the way. Sights included the first ever traffic lights (erected in 1924), The Brandenburg Gate and The Memorial to the Murdered Jews. We then made our way to the River Spree for a cruise through the city which lasted about an hour. After the cruise, we walked backed to the hotel via Checkpoint Charlie. My first day in Berlin was amazing but tiring as we did a lot of walking and we had had to meet at Birmingham Airport at 4.30 in the morning!
On the second day, we went to the Berlin Wall Memorial, the Deutsches Historisches Museum and the DDR museum. The German History Museum was really cool and they sold a lot of amazing souvenirs. After visiting this museum we went to Alexanderplatz where we ate our packed lunches and shopped if we wanted to. The DDR Museum recreated what life was like living in the Cold War German Democratic Republic and displays included cars, music and household rooms. Most popular was a driving game in an old Trabant car in which the steering wheel and pedals actually worked. Overall, however, the second day was more educational than fun. Although there was a lot of walking again, we also used the U-bahn underground train.
On the third day, we began with a short walk to the Deutsches Technikmuseum. This was really interesting as it exhibits a large collection of historical technical artefacts including a lot of planes, trains, cars and bikes. There were also many interactive exhibits in the Spectrum Science Centre which is part of the Museum. We then went to the Topographie des Terrors Exhibition and Documentation Centre which had been the site of the Nazi SS and Gestapo Headquarters and now a long section of the Berlin Wall remains there. Following this, we headed to the Story of Berlin Museum which was really interesting as it included a tour of an underground nuclear bunker. Close by on Kurfurstendamm are the remains of the bombed Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial church. From there, we walked to a restaurant called Route 66 which was an American-styled Diner. The food we ordered was delicious! After eating, we made our way to Strike Lanes Lounge Bowling near Alexanderplatz. I played okay finishing in 3rd place in both games.
The fourth and final day was great for people who adore sports. This is because we went to the Olympic Stadium in Germany. There were a lot of good souvenirs but I didn’t get any as they were quite pricey. After this, we made our way to Alexanderplatz again where we had free time to eat and do some final souvenir shopping. The coach then met us to take us back to the airport for our flight home.
Overall, our trip to Berlin was exceptional. I cannot wait to go on another trip like this in Year 9. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to everyone I know. On behalf of the 39 students (in Years 8 and 9) that went, I would like to thank the teachers (Miss Hartill, Mr Jones, Mrs Minhas and Mr Campbell) who made this journey possible.
Mahdi Chowdhury, Year 8
