Alles ändert sich immer

For some reason this thought really stuck with me on Wednesday, when we had our first cultural excursion of our language practicum. "Alles ändert sich immer," said our tour guide as we walked along the streets in the old East Berlin, by the building where "Goodbye Lenin!" was filmed. Alles ändert sich immer means everything is always, continually changing, and on our tour and now just walking through the streets I realize more and more just how true that is.

On our (very cold!) tour we saw the "Scheunenviertel," an old section of former East Berlin by Rosa-Luxemberg-Platz. Three hundred years ago, when the ciyz was much smaller, it was the area where all the barns were, but today, because so many building have been destroyed by war, it is one of the few areas with buildings that date from the pre-war era.

The Volksbühne, or People's Stage, built in 1914

I found it fascinating to listen to the tour guide because I was constantly surprised by the age of the buildings we passed; some were older than I expected and some younger. That's already something I think is cool about this city: you can walk along a street and see an idyllic old home and it might be right next to a building that was destroyed in the war, which is next to another building that was torn out completely and renovated in one of the "Sanierung" sweeps of 60s or 70s, which are very different styles of architecture!

Also on Wednesday, after our culture program with the class, I took a quick stop at the iconic Brandenburger Tor with Emma, because we use the same train to get home and that day the Brandenburger Tor was on our route. It was pretty cool to see such a photographed site! I learned in class that the Tor was originally designed, before the splitting of the city, with the idea of conveying openness. Today most people only think of separation and two cities in one when they see it.

Emma and I in front of the Brandenburger Tor. Fun fact, the statue of the four horses is called the Quadriga.

And finally we have been placed into our groups following our placement exam on Tuesday. I did better than I expected on the text, always a nice surprise. Now I suppose it's time to see what the first weekend brings!