Gutentag!
Wow – this trip has flown by. We can’t believe how quick these days have been and we are already sad knowing that we are heading home tomorrow. Our morning began in the lovely and hip neighborhood known as Kroezberg. This was an area that was heavily bombed during World War 2, and whose building facades and walls are wide open for beautiful street art. Our amazing local guide Ronen took us on a walking tour of the graffiti. This neighborhood is also home to a large majority of the city’s Turkish population. It is a beautiful example of how Berlin has found a way to integrate its communities instead of marginalizing them.
Following the walking tour we went to the grave site of Moses Mendelssohn. This cemetery sits directly adjacent to the Moses Mendelssohn Jewish School. We had the opportunity to have an amazing cultural exchange with the advanced English class. An amazing hour was spent in conversation with our fellow Berlin teenagers learning about their lives: what it is to grow up Jewish in Berlin, and how our differences are not nearly as many as our similarities.
For lunch we found our way to the beautiful streets of Western Berlin. Sitting on top of the KaDaWe was something that can only be described as pure joy. A gourmet food court, a chocolatirea, and a confectionary. Many of us waddled out of there with our hearts and stomachs full and our sugar numbers through the roof. But lets be honest, the food on this trip has been so good…
Speaking of food, dinner was a traditional German feast. Schnitzel and Spaetzal and Gurkensalat and Mushrooms and Red Cabbage – delicious. And then the strudel came out…we ended right back where we started, with a shtickel of strudel.
We are sad to leave this place, but we know that Berlin will be with us forever.
Auf Wiedersehen or something like that
Rabbi, Jessica, and Daniel
