Courtney Adler Enjoys Berlin
Aug. 4, 2001
Courtney Adler, #1
"Its raining men, halleluiah, it's raining men!" The music blares on the bus as
Dori sings along on the microphone. The volleyball team is going out on the town
in Berlin.....We arrived at the club around 10:45 not knowing what to expect out
of the night ahead of us. The club was called Knaack and was set off the street
in what looked like an old house. Three floors, each with their own personality.
We, of course, hit the top floor to start our night with a little karaoke. Dori
was already warmed up from the bus ride there. Our song choices ranged from
Proud Mary (Tina Turner) to Shoop (Salt 'n Pepa). I think we definitely put on a
good show. After karaoke we strolled down to the 2nd floor to get our "groove
on". The night flew by, and we danced into the early hours of the morning. The
1st floor of the club started playing 80's music late in the evenin, and that
was the most fun of the night for me. It was also a memorable night for me,
because earlier that day, at Georgia Tech, I earned my degree, although this
trip prevented me from being there in person to receive my diploma. But, what a
better way to share in my excitement than with my teammates.
After breakfast this morning we checked out of our Berlin hotel and headed
downtown to Checkpoint Charlie. Checkpoint Charlie is a historic gateway that
connected East and West Berlin before the wall came down on Nov. 9, 1989. The
Gateway now only consists of a small booth surrounded by sand bags flying an
American flag. Looking from West Berlin into East Berlin at Checkpoint Charlie,
a plain white sign stands alone on the right side of the road. The sign reads
"You are leaving the American sector" in four different languages. These six
words may not seem very powerful reading them on paper, but standing on the
street looking at the previous Communist run East Berlin dealt with, the words
sank deep into my heart. Suddenly, thoughts were racing through my head about
what it must have been like for an East Berliner to stand at the Wall knowing
freedom and a better life was just on the other side.
There is a memorial museum located in one of the buildings on that corner and it
took us about an hour and a half to go through it. The musuem is mostly about
escapees that fled East Germany. It was both shocking and amazing how people
snuck into West Berlin. Tunnels were dug, flying contraptions built, people were
stuffed in hollowed surf boards and speakers all for freedom from the Communist
regime. Reading some of the stories at the museum had an emotional effect on me.
It is so hard to imagine not living in a democracy, today I am definitely not
taking my freedom for granted.
The rest of the day was filled with shopping at a mall in downtown Berlin. Most
of us all bought clothes or gifts for significant people back home. At 4pm, we
loaded the bus for our trip back to Hamburg. Half of the way there, we stopped
at a gas station where Mr. Pachale and Opa were waiting for us to say goodbye
one last time.
I can not believe that our trip is almost complete. Germany has been a very
exciting time and it will be hard to leave.
Tsch÷'
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