Sunday morning: Everyone and their host families arrived at Lippstadt station at 9:00 am to say goodbyes and for the exchange students to head to Berlin. There was a mix of emotions, along with lots of tears and hugs between the exchange students, host parents and siblings. Sincere goodbyes and promises to stay in contact as our host families waved us off as the train doors closed and we rode off on our way to Hamm. High on emotions, everyone talked about their last day with host family.
The train ride to Hamm was a quick 30 minute trip to the station, the train mostly empty and peaceful gave everyone a chance to slowly calm themselves and breath. Once we arrived at Hamm station we made our way to the next train to Berlin. Everyone worked together (well mainly Dane was forced encouraged) to carry the heavier luggage up and down the large number of stairs so we could get to our next platform for our train as some was just too difficult to carry on our own. As our train arrived, we made our way on, piling the bigger luggage in the luggage areas while smaller bags were placed at our feet or above us on the railings. We made ourselves comfortable for the long 3 hour trip ahead of us. Not long into the ride the boys suggested playing among us, which most people decided to join in on, including Mr Smith. We played a few rounds before everyone went back to doing their own things, at one point the train was going over 250km/h and before we knew it we had arrived at berlin.
Exiting the train, we took in the surroundings of the bustling Berlin station, with people everywhere and many levels going down underground. We used the elevator to get down to the floor we needed to, Mr Smith went off to buy us transportation tickets while the group naughtily sang Christmas songs perhaps a little too loudly, along with some other random ones, we were quickly silenced from a look from Frau Bruns. We waited (un)patiently for Mr Smith to come back with our tickets and as soon as he did, we headed off. We took another train closer to our hostel and from there we walked to Aletto and checked in. The girls went into their room as did the boys and everyone unpacked, claimed beds and got ready for what we were going to see later that evening.
Grabbing our passports, phones, jackets and room card we head down two flights of stairs to meet our teachers in the lobby. Once everyone was there and ready we left the hostel and caught a bus to the Reichstag building, passing multiple landmarks along the way. Once we arrived, everyone stopped to stare and appreciate the old beautiful buildings, after too many photos, selfies and attempts of trying to do a TikTok, the teachers lead us to a smaller separate building right near it for a security check. We showed our passports and they checked us off before we went through a metal detector and our phones and jackets were placed onto a plastic tray like at the airports. After passing through security, our group followed a staff member to the building where we had to patiently wait for one door to shut before another opened leading us into the actual building due to security. Once inside the building we sat down on some couches and waited for our tour to begin. We met our posh speaking guide as she toured as around the Reichstag, frequently using words like “propose” and “observe”. Although it was quite humorous, the tour of the Reichstag was interesting as we got to see the graffiti from the Russians’, Olaf Schultz office door (unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to go inside) and visited the dome at the top where we made a TikTok in front of one of the German flags, explored the view and history of the dome.
After an interesting and fun time at the Reichstag, we headed out of the building to grab some dinner. We decided on Vapiano, a tasty pizza and pasta restaurant nearby. Ording in small groups, we then headed upstairs to wait for our food while everyone chatted among themselves. Soon enough, everyone’s food arrived and we dug in, most enjoying their pasta while others savoured their pizza. After everyone had finished their meals, Frau Bruns and Mr Smith came to join us at our table, asking us what our 2 DMs were and 1 priceline (two lows and a high, because DM is life). We shared our thoughts with the group then finally headed back to our hostel. By the time we arrived everyone was exhausted and went straight to bed, and that was our first day in Berlin!
– Kaya Beasley
Box Hill Abroad 