Day 5 – Berlin
By Kristy Jaeckel

Today we went shopping! We were all excited about it ( with the exception of Curt, Jim, James, and Adam) . The only thing we complained about at the end of the day was needing more time! We shopped on a street called Kurfurstendamm, which was formerly a major shopping street in West Berlin. We had a lot of fun browsing in the unique stores and trying on different styles of clothes. It was also fun to walk around and get a feel for what Berlin is really like. While we were shopping, my group even got a chance to see mimes on the street performing. The street we shopped on also had the famous church, Kaiser Wilhelm, that was bombed in World War II. The remains of the church were all there and untouched and there was another modern church built around it. It was a great experience, and at the end of the day all we could talk about was how we can’t wait to go shopping again.  

After shopping we drove to Checkpoint Charlie. This was an interesting thing to see and I really enjoyed it. It is the former boarder crossing between East and West Berlin, and the tank standoff in 1961. It was a neat place to walk around and see the actual checkpoint as well as the big sign with an American soldier on one side and a Russian soldier on the other.  

When we were done at the checkpoint, we drove back and got ready for another match against the Germans. Unfortunately this time we struggled against them and lost in 2. After that we played the Czech team again and were better prepared and beat them in 2. After playing against them, we went and had a barbeque with the 2 teams and Northern Lights. It was really fun talking to them and getting to know them, and both teams were very friendly and outgoing with us, even agreeing to play “the pony game”. Both teams surprised me with how good they were at English, although I personally had a little trouble talking with them because I talk too fast. It was a long day that was filled with fun events, and after saying goodbye to the 2 teams we headed off to pack and get ready for a big drive the next morning.