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3rd May 2007
Dear Diary,

In Germany, I left the train at the central station of Essen. When I got out, I walked towards the town centre. I liked the shops so much that I bought new clothes with the rest of my money as it was a lot colder in Germany than in Spain. I found a lot of great things. However, I started getting hungry. That’s why I went to a wonderful place, called “McDonald’s”.

Totally ravenous, I got in and ordered a very big burger with chips and a coke. Then I wanted to search for a seat but I noticed that there was no free table. So I simply sat down besides a group of teens. I kind of liked them and after a while they asked me where I came from and what I was looking for in Germany.

I was really glad to talk to someone and the teens were so nice to me. They told me that they were all going to the same great school, Helene-Lange-Realschule. Then I told them that I had already been in Denmark, Poland, Sweden and Spain and that now, I would like to get to know something typical German, e.g. landscapes and monuments.

One of my new young friends told me that Essen was a great city and that there were a lot of interesting places. Another one recommended visiting the “Villa Hügel”, the old cinema “Lichtburg”, the huge park “Grugapark”, Lake Baldeney and the coal coking plant.

I got really enthusiastic and asked them immediately how to get there. One of these friendly people gave me a folder and a map of Essen. And suddenly they even had another great idea: In three days they would go on a trip to Cologne and Munich with their class and they asked me to come along with them! I was totally pleased, thanked them for the invitation and left my new friends saying: “Well, then I’ll see you in three days at your school!”

Then I left McDonald’s and as I walked down the street, I saw some bright letters with the word “Lichtburg” on them. That was the huge well-known cinema in Germany where a lot of films are shown for the first time. Unfortunately there was no time to watch a film, instead I had to find a hotel.

4th May 2007
Dear diary,

I had a pretty good breakfast the next morning: I got a giant plate with rolls, chocolate cream, jam, a sausage, cheese and even scrambled eggs. Then I asked the waiter how to get to the “Villa Hügel”, the residence of the Krupp family who had a lot of companies in the steel industry in former times. Today their house is a museum and from time to time there are exhibitions on interesting topics, the last one dealing with “Tibet”.

The waiter was really nice and called a taxi for me. After 15 minutes I already was at “Villa Hügel”. I found it very exciting and took part in a guided tour. Afterwards I walked down the hill to Lake Baldeney, a really pretty lake which is only some hundred meters away from the Villa. There were a lot of people doing sports at the lakeshore. Particularly the skaters made me hop around. A poster invited me to a boat trip round the lake. So I bought a ticket and enjoyed it very much. Besides the lake I could also see locations like a beachside and a mini golf course.

After this round trip I was absolutely tired and called a taxi to get back to the hotel. There I fell in my bed and slept until the next morning.

5th May 2007
Dear diary,

The next morning the waiter suggested me to have a look at the “Grugapark”, a huge park with several attractions. This time I took the underground to get there. First I visited the animals, for example the birds, and then I went to the beautiful garden area. But then I suddenly noticed a big poster. It said: “Today, Holiday on Ice!!! At half-price!!!” I was so excited that I bought a ticket immediately. Fortunately I got a seat in the first row. It was amazing to see how good these people could skate and dance on the ice.

I was so impressed that the first thing the next day was to ask the waiter where I could learn how to skate on ice. The waiter explained to me: “At the coal coking plant, there is a swimming pool and now at winter times there is a huge ice skating area. I will call you a taxi again, okay?” I did not even finish all my breakfast but instead went to my room to change my clothes.

When I got there I borrowed ice skates and started skating. But unfortunately it was not as easy as I had expected. Sometimes I fell but after some time and with a lot of effort, I managed to skate a whole round. It was a lot of fun.

Well, of course I noticed that I was not able to skate as well as the people from yesterday because when I tried a quick rotation I immediately fell on the ice floor. But this did not matter to me, I simply heaved myself up and tried again.

After two hours the taxi was already waiting for me. I told the taxi driver how fantastic it had been. The driver was happy for me and asked me: “Maybe you are hungry? I could drive you to a great place where you can eat. They have a buffet there.” I thought this was a great idea and said: “Yes, that would be a pleasure. And could you pick me up again tomorrow? In the morning I have to be at Helene-Lange-Realschule because I will go to Cologne with a couple of youngsters.” “Sure, I will pick you up tomorrow.”

When I got to the place the buffet was not yet opened. However, this did not matter to me. I simply had time to have a close look at the great old building. Finally, after half an hour the buffet was opened. I sat down at a small table and was served by the waiter.

As a starter I had chicken soup, then there was sauerkraut and as a main dish I had dumpling with pork knuckle. The dessert was vanilla pudding with hot cherries. All the dishes tasted good but after such a long day I was totally tired and soon went to bed.

6th May 2007
Dear diary,

Today I was in Cologne, a very beautiful city in Germany. When I got on the bus, I heard many pupils singing. I sat down behind a pupil named Fritz. He was very nice and told me a story that he had experienced when he was in Cologne: “During Carnival time I was in Cologne and suddenly two clowns sprang at me. The Carnival starts at November 11 at 11 o’clock and lasts until Ash Wednesday (Aschermittwoch).”

After two hours we arrived in Cologne. I asked Fritz what we would do in Cologne. He said: “First of all we will visit the Cathedral called “Dome of Cologne”. This is a very large church right in the middle of the city centre.” So we went to the cathedral from whose top you can see the whole city, the river Rhine and a lot of boats. After 15 minutes we descended from the top and went downstairs to see the cathedral treasury. There we could see old bones and other treasures from clergy and popes. The bones made me anxious.

Afterwards we went into the city which was very large. A lot of houses were timber framed houses which indicates that Cologne is a quite old city. Then Fritz told me: “In 2005 Cologne hosted the World Youth Day. Millions of people came that day because they wanted to see the Pope.

After three hours we continued our trip. I thought that Cologne was really beautiful and totally a must-see if you visit Germany.

After some time my class and I arrived at the central station of Munich which was fortunately not too far away from the Euro Youth Hostel. As we had arrived quite late, I was going to visit some attractions the next day.

7th May 2007
Dear diary,

This day our teacher showed us the “Germany Museum”. The students wanted to take part in a workshop. There you can take a theoretical pilot exam. On my planet the children learn very early how to fly anything that can fly. But it was useful that you learn how a plane works, what physical laws influence the plane and how to navigate it. After that we modeled a plane. To me this didn't make much sense, because why building a model of it if you can buy a real one?

8th May 2007
Dear diary,

Today my class and I visited the "Oktoberfest", a festival which takes place, as you can guess by the name, in October. I got to know how important the celebration and the beer was to the people here is. Here is just a small example: 6.2 million people visited the festival and all in all they drank about 6.7 million "Maß" (1 Maß is the glass in which one liter beer is served).

What surprised me most was the fact that the people didn't sell the beer to underage people. Even though someone told me that the people on this planet only care about making as much profit as possible.

8th May 2007
Dear diary,

Today I said goodbye to the class because I wanted to continue the trip on my own. But before I went away I asked them if there was anything left, which was worth to be seen in this city. They recommended me to visit the 'Allianz Arena', a huge football stadium and to watch the upcoming football match there between Bavaria Munich and VFL Wolfsburg. To me this arena seemed quite huge, regarding the fact, that there were only 22 people on the field. This arena has a capacity of around 205,000 people. Nevertheless, I really wanted to watch a match of this famous game. But my problem was that I didn't have the money for a ticket. That is why I started working in a restaurant at the 'Oktoberfest'.

10th May 2007
Dear diary,

After two days of washing the dishes in the restaurant, I had enough money to visit the football match, which would take place on this day. Bavaria Munich won against VFL Wolfsburg with one goal ahead. I must admit that this game is really fascinating. After this event, I visited the popular 'Auer Dult' market place, which takes place only three times a year. On this market you can find a lot of takeaways, where you can buy a Bavarian delicacy, the 'Bavarian veal sausage'. In the 'Schatzsucher Alley', I finally bought a book with the title 'Bible'. But it had really many chapters and pages and so I decided to read it on my journey to the next city and I got onto the next train.

11th May 2007
Dear Diary

From Munich I continued to go to Dresden. First I visited the “Frauenkirche”, a very well-known church. I was told that the Frauenkirche was destroyed in the Second World War and only after a long reconstruction period it was opened again on 30 October 2005. It is the landmark of Dresden and after the reconstruction more than two million people visited the church. Even concerts, services and free inspections take place in it.

In addition I visited a residence with a lot of history which was really interesting. Then I visited the fortress of Dresden which is approved as probably the oldest building in the time of Renaissance. It is situated under the “Brühlsche” Terrace which is open to the public only since 1814. It is surrounded by a four hundred year-old brick gate and I sat down near a close river.

Dresden can be seen as a really beautiful city and I think if you visit Germany, you just have to visit Dresden. When I sat down in a park an old man told me that Dresden was divided into an old part and a new part. The old borough of the city was the right bank of the river Elbe. The settlement opposite the river was called “Altstadt” and since the 18th century it carried the name “Altdresden”. In 1403 the city received municipal law but still remained in the shade of the other site of the Elbe. After a devastating fire in 1685 that quarter already was a part of Dresden according to the plan to form a new city. The left bank of the river Elbe is the historical centre of Dresden.

12th May 2007
Dear Diary,

Today I arrived in Berlin and I went to a hotel because it was late. In my room there is a big bed and a bathroom.

13th May 2007
Dear Diary,

This morning I had a meal in the hotel and after that I got ready to go by bus to the Brandenburg Gate. I was able to go upstairs in the bus. It was really funny and I could see so many shops from up there. When I saw the Brandenburg Gate and the bus stopped, I went out. In the window of a shop I saw a funny bear and so I went in and could see many of these “statues”. I asked the shop-assistant: “Excuse me please, what are these “statues” for?” And she said to me: “Oh, those? That’s a “Buddy Bear”. They are really funny because you can put them on their legs or hands and there are so many different ones, more than 250 different types, and you can only get them in Berlin. You can also get the “Ostampelmännchen” here in Berlin. They are the small people on the traffic lights. If you want to cross the street you will see this “person” in red or green, telling you whether you can cross the street or not. This kind is special because it was used in the former German Democratic Republic. Now you can only find it in Berlin.”

I thanked the lady for her explanation and then I went to the Brandenburg Gate. It was bigger than I had expected and everyone can go through it, like a tunnel. Behind the gate there was a park on the right side. A woman told me: “If you follow that road behind the Brandenburg Gate, you will see the “Gold Else”, a golden angel, on the “Siegessäule”, the column of triumph.” So I went that way and after more than half an hour I could see it. Next to the road which takes you to the “Gold Else”, there was a little café. I ate my sandwiches which I had taken from the hotel, and drank a Coke in the café. When I had eaten my sandwiches I saw many little birds and I thought that those were sparrows. They came really near to me and they were really sweet.

After this meal I went to the bus station near the Brandenburg Gate. I waited for the bus there and when it arrived I wanted to go upstairs again but it was full, so I sat down at a seat downstairs next to an old lady. She asked me: “Are you in Berlin for the first time?” And I said: “Yes, why?” And she said that I should go to the “KaDeWe” because it is the biggest store in Germany. I still had enough time and so I went there with her as she went out of the bus. At first I thought that this store was not so big but when I was inside, I realized it was enormous. In the building there were many floors and I often lost my way. When I got out again it was already quite late and so I drove back to the hotel.

14th May 2007
Dear Diary,

As I woke up today it was twelve o’ clock and I jumped out of my bed because I wanted to see the “Checkpoint Charlie”. I went to the bus station and waited for the bus but then a taxi stopped right beside me. The driver asked me: “Are you waiting for the bus?” “Yes, I am.” “Well, you can wait for a long time because just a few metres down the street the road is broken and the buses have to drive a different way. I am the only one who can take you to places from here.” “How much will that cost?” “Nothing, it’s so boring to drive alone and I want to speak to someone.” So we drove to the street where the “Checkpoint Charlie” was. I was not sure what it was but then I saw a wall with dates and pictures of Berlin. There it said that Charlie had been a soldier who had to help to build the wall which divided Berlin. He did not want to live without his family and that was why he had been the last person who jumped over the wall and who did not die there. I had a look at the little hut with sand sacks which was in the street to remember the soldiers who died there. Then I took a taxi to go back to the hotel because it was late.

15th May 2007
Dear Diary,

Today I woke up early and took a train to the station “Zoologischer Garten” and from there I took the bus to the “Reichstag”. I could not trust my eyes: There was a queue where the people had to wait for three hours only to get into this building. I wanted to go inside, too, so I had to wait as well. From the top of the building I could have a look into the huge room where the politicians worked, the German national parliament.

Afterwards I went hiking in the park next to the Reichstag. In the park I found a brochure about the “Alexander”. I got interested and so I took the bus to that place. When I left the bus I saw a tower with a big ball on the top. At the bottom of the tower there was a door and it said that one could go on the tower. I found out that the “ball” was a nice café and that the platform with the tables moved around the tower. It was like a merry-go-round and from there you had a great view over Berlin. I sat down, ate a piece of cake and drank a hot chocolate. But then I saw my girlfriend upstairs with a flag in her hand. I did not look at this flag in particular because I only wanted to go upstairs. When I arrived there, there was only the little flag of Norway. I went back to the hotel and got ready to go on travelling - but not today because it was already seven o’ clock.

16th May 2007
Dear Diary,

Right now I am standing at the airport – waiting for my plane to Norway.

text: Christian Behnke, Jacqueline Fürst, Vanessa Fürst, Tim Graf, Joana Rudziok, Lisa Jentsch
photos: Martin Drahmann, Kevin Hartung, Fabian Hartwig, Lisa Jentsch, wikipedia.de


Chapter 6