Week 10- 30th March- 5th April
This past week has been a busy week of sightseeing and being
like a proper tourist. I have had the opportunity not only to be a tourist in
Copenhagen but also in Berlin where Alison and I went, along with two Italian
girls and a Spanish girl from our class for our Easter break. This week I have seen so many new things and
had the chance to visit a variety of different places and developed my cultural
awareness of both these countries.
The week began with a visit from my Dad and my younger
sister! This was something I was so looking forward to, as I knew it would give
me the opportunity to show them where I have been living for the last two
months, but also to show them how well I have learnt to navigate myself through
this totally different city and to finally go to many of the places I myself
have not had the opportunity to visit. We went on a canal tour which not only
showed us the various famous sights of Copenhagen, but also provided me with
new information and understanding of these areas. I really enjoyed getting to see Copenhagen in
a totally different light, as over these past months I have become so used to
the culture and way of life here it was interesting to see it again through the
eyes of a tourist and to see how well I have adapted to this way of living.
After my busy weekend with my family, we took off for Berlin
early Tuesday morning. This was a trip I
was really looking forward to as Germany is a country I have never visited. As
we landed we discussed all the different things we wanted to see, and I quickly
realised that our 3 day visit was not going to be anywhere near enough time to
see everything! We however managed to squeeze so many different activities in,
visiting Charlotteburg palace, the East side gallery, and the Olympic Stadium,
as well as doing a 4 hour walking tour which showed us sites such as Hitler’s
bunker, the Brandenburg gate and Checkpoint Charlie. Germany has a well known history, but I
discovered that I actually knew so little about the people living there and the
conflicts that occurred within the city boundaries. This trip was so informative and I have a
whole new awareness and appreciation for the city. I found we were all constantly asking each
other various questions, eager to develop our knowledge and understanding of
the culture in this city.
Sights like the Berlin wall, the east side gallery and the
concentration camp we visited really hit home about how life was here, and how
recently the conflicts ended. We met a
group of people who were on a trip from Northern Ireland to compare the
conflict at home with the conflict between East and West Berlin. This was something I had not previously
considered but after talking with them I was able to recognise many similarities
between the two places.
Berlin was an amazing city, filled with things to see, and
is a place I will want to visit again, as I feel we only scratched the surface
of discovering the culture of this place.
Going away with girls from other countries was a great experience also,
as we were all able to learn from each other about how things are in our own
countries. I loved asking them questions
about their home lives and discovering more about these countries as well. Our
only issue was over meal times, as the Spanish and Italian prefer to eat so
late at dinner, and Ali and I were always far to hungry to wait until 9pm!
This week has been a week of learning and developing my knowledge
and understanding of a variety of different towns and cities, and I am now defiantly
keen to get more sightseeing and discovery in during my remaining time here!
No comments:
Post a Comment