After a week spent soaking up the Mediterranean sun in the immaculate beaches of Greece, I decided to take a plunge into a complete opposite vibe of Europe and went to Berlin, Germany. Upon arrival, it became very obvious that we’re not in Ariccia anymore. I saw neon Mohawks and piercings at every turn. Angsty thirteen-year old Maggie would have thrived here, but present-day Maggie had a hard time grasping the charm of this eerie city.
Our first night we found an amazing market, Markthelle Nuen, and I met up with a friend from Auburn. Later that evening, we found the Prater Biergarten, which is the oldest beer hall in Berlin, where we found refuge from the relentless Berlin rain with a cold beer in hand. While it was a beautiful night, full of laughter and great beer, I still was not finding the charm. We called it an early night to prepare for our early morning tour to Sachenhausen concentration camp, which we knew would make for a long, emotionally draining day.
I don’t want to go into the horrors that we learned about while walking through such a dark time in history, but I do strongly believe it is important for humanity to remember and respect those who were persecuted for who they were. The thing that haunted me most about Sachsenhausen was the fact that when we walked into the camp it was in color. I have learned about the Holocaust at least once a year since I was eight years old, but I never really thought about the fact that these camps were in color. I always imagined it as a black and white nightmare where only pure horror existed. However, this camp had color, birds chirping, and you could see nature surrounding the camp. A constant reminder that life was going on, and the world did not stop existing while these prisoners were being tortured so cruelly. Again, I don’t want to go into the chilling details about our tour, but it was a truly moving experience. We did not feel like doing much after that day and called it a night rather early.
Over our next two days in Berlin, we checked off the tourist destinations. We saw Checkpoint Charlie, visited the Topography of Terror Museum, the Brandenburg Tor, and of course, the Berlin wall. It was at the East Side Gallery of the Berlin wall where I finally found what makes this city tick. A city with such a bloody, corrupted history (much of it extremely recent) has turned the symbols of its close-minded, stifling past into expression of a beautiful unified world. I realized at the wall that this city demands your attention, it does not want you to forget the bad in the world, but rather works relentlessly to make it into something beautiful.
Berlin is a city that brought me face to face with the evilest times in modern history and pushed me to tear down the walls I have built in my mind to accept others. While heading to the airport, I could not help but think how important this trip was for me. It would have been easier to stay and lay out on the beautiful beaches of Greece. Yet, I came on JSB study abroad trip to  challenge myself and tear down the walls that have prevented me from reaching my full potential.
-Maggie Pappas