In my last days in Berlin, I was able to cool down from my very busy final weeks. Although I was not traveling, it felt like I did not have time to rest. Classes seemed to have gone from minimal to a lot of work––with essays, presentations, and research to wrap up. On top of the academic responsibilities, suddenly my friends and I realized there was tons of stuff in Berlin we had been meaning to do, but we had not gotten around to yet. We were filling our days from the moment we woke up until the moment we went to bed, leaving almost no time to sit still. I strategically booked my flight a few days after the program ended, though, giving me some time to breathe before coming home.
On the last Saturday, I spent the morning taking one of my best friends from Connecticut College around Berlin. After having quite a few friends visit me this semester, I got pretty good at giving a tour through the central part of the city. In the afternoon, I met up with some of my friends from IES who were still in the city: Peyton (Wofford College), Griffin (American University), and Lizzy (Boston College). Since it was technically the last day of the program, the majority of our friends were already on their flights home. The four of us went for a ride on the Ring Bahn, a scenic train route part of the public transportation system that brought us through most of the boroughs of the city. After the ride, we spent the afternoon hanging at Peyton’s apartment as she packed before going to a hot pot dinner.
Sunday was Griffin’s birthday, so he celebrated with Lizzy and me (Peyton was flying home) by going out to breakfast at The Tinman––a restaurant Lizzy had raved about. We went from there through a Nordic-themed Christmas Market and then to the Futurium, a brand new museum about technology and artificial intelligence. In the evening we went to dinner and then said our final goodbyes. :(
The strangest part of ending the semester was certainly the goodbyes. I know I will see many of my friends again soon because they are from or also go to school in New England, but for others, saying goodbye was much harder because we realized that it might be a long time before we see each other again. Spending four months together allowed us to create uniquely close relationships, so I can’t imagine what my semester would have looked like without them.
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Zoe Honigberg
<p>I am a rising junior at Connecticut College majoring in Architectural Studies. When I am not studying or constructing three-dimensional architecture models, I can be found playing ultimate frisbee or helping run the Womxn's Empowerment Initiative at Conn. After graduating from high school, I took a gap year to work as an au pair near Hamburg, Germany, so I could not be more excited to return to the country and share with you my adventures!</p>
