The Most Beautiful Thing.

Of all the things I have heard about Berlin, the truest has to be: It is a place you have to “get.”

It isn’t a place you can take at face value. It is a place you have to dive into, headfirst, ready for something exciting and spectacular.

There is always something going on in Berlin. I almost feel as though the entire city has been planning for months in preparation for my visit here. Every day I discover something new, something diverse, something exciting.

I have been to so many festivals here that celebrate different cultures. The first one that I went to was actually called “The Festival of Cultures.” It was a huge street party event with music, food, drink, performers, a parade, venders and more. People from places I hadn’t even heard of were represented there. I had such a great time with some of the girls on the trip. Then again, I’ve discovered that it’s hard not to have fun here.

Katie, Andrea, Caitlin, Lauren, Sarah and I at the Festival of Cultures in West Berlin.

Cheers!

I also got the chance to go to a Turkish Festival. I made some beautiful art with a Turkish woman and also got to explore Potsdamer Platz. I even found a couple pieces of the wall!

The Sony Center, Berlin

Original remnants of the Berlin Wall.

Another awesome experience I had was getting to go to the Friedrichstadt Palast. It has the largest theatre stage in the entire world. We saw a show called “Show Me.”

Clearly Berlin is a place full of life and creativity. Especially though, it is a place full of freedom. Ever since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it seems the city has gained a sense of freedom both literally and figuratively. The wall truly was a tangible symbol of an inexplicable captivity. Now, along with the wall, this inescapable judgement and confinement is fallen.

Today, Berliners don’t infringe on the freedoms, the passions or the paths of other Berliners. It is just the way of life here. As our walking tour guide Alex said, “You can be whoever you want, no one questions where you came from.” Anyone can become a Berliner, no matter where you’re from. I did, he said.

Of all the architecture, monuments, sunsets and fashion, this is the most beautiful thing I have seen yet. The freedom people have over their destiny here is astounding. The ability to come somewhere completely new from where you were and create a future that is perfectly your own.

Berlin may have a severed past, but there seems to be such a hopeful present and an incredibly beautiful future.