#4 TSCHÜSS BERLIN, HALLO LEIPZIG!

March 28, 2023

After a record-setting day, we figured our kids might be just a tad less energetic than usual this morning so we kicked off the day an hour later than yesterday. We once again had breakfast at "our" café where the kids ordered (almost) like locals already.

Then we did what we couldn't do yesterday: go to the top of Berlin's TV tower, called Alex because of its location on the Alexanderplatz. We took our time enjoying the view over Berlin from 203 meters (666 ft) high.

After we descended 666ft in just a few seconds, we split up into two groups: One group wanted to go shopping by detour of the Berliner Dom (cathedral), where they got to listen to some beautiful organ music); the other took the S-Bahn to the East Side Gallery, where those remains of the Berliner Mauer (wall) are still standing that show the most famous graffiti on the western side of the wall. One of our students (no worries, Jayden, I won't say who it was) had presented on the East Side Gallery in class before we left and was very excited to share her knowledge with the group. They couldn't have asked for a better tour guide. I was equally excited because I had never seen those artworks that I have known since I was a child in real life.

Just like yesterday, the sky was spectacular for photography. Only the sun didn't cooperate and insisted to shine on the wrong side of the wall.

The famous Bruderkuss (brotherly kiss) between Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and East German leader Erich Honecker - the standard way for leaders in the former Soviet bloc to greet each other

The Mauer Trabi

The Trabant was one of two cars produced in East Germany and became the symbol of the country, especially after the Wall fell.

Pictures from the Berliner Dom group:

And then it was time to travel to Leipzig! We gathered our bags from the hotel, schlepped them to the S-Bahn station and got on a VERY crowded train to the Hauptbahnhof (main station). We spent two hours there, taking turns watching the luggage and going souvenir shopping (and eating more Döner).

When it was finally 5 PM, we took the escalator down to the lower level where our ICE (Inter City Express) to Leipzig was supposed to leave from platform 2. However, Germans are sneaky and constantly throw pop quizzes at you to make sure you're paying attention. Five minutes before departure, the Deutsche Bahn let people know (via a subtle PA announcement) that they were just kidding and our train would now leave from platform 6.

By that point, Frau Legall had already given the kids the "Get on the train or forever stay in Berlin!!" speech, so everyone was properly motivated to quickly carry all suitcases up the escalator, run across the station, and down the next escalator before our train left the station. We made it, leaving no one behind!

Even though the ride to Leipzig was only an hour and a half long, almost everyone fell asleep on the train. When we arrived at the Hauptbahnhof Leipzig, Jaseen was so far gone into dreamland that it took two people shaking him to wake him up.

Finally, the highlight of the day... THE ARRIVAL!

Our friends from the MSG Leipzig had prepared welcome signs and were waiting for their exchange partners to walk towards them... until Thalia couldn't take it anymore and started running towards her partner Jayden. All others followed suit. Seeing tears of joy on the kids' faces and hearing their excited screams when they saw their transatlantic friends gave me serious goosebumps and reminded me why we're here and why we do what we do. It's simply awesome to be part of that experience.