The trip went from Thursday to Sunday. The 4 days can be summed up that is was a very hectic, non-stop weekend with a lack of sleep and sun and too much rain. But despite all of that, we managed to accomplish quite a bit!
Our first rest stop on the way to Berlin was the old border patrol between East (DDR) and West Germany.
We stayed in a youth hostel in Potsdam. So on Thursday evening, we strolled around the city. We got a glimpse of the Holländisches Viertel (Dutch Sector)
and a portion of the Innenstadt at night.
That concluded time we spend looking around Potsdam because to us...Berlin just seemed way cooler. But nothing against Potsdam, it's a very pretty house. Before I forget, we got to see the Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, a.k.a. where the Potsdam Conference after WWII took place. 
And afterwards we visited the summer home of Frederick II of Prussia called the Palace of Sanssouci. 
Unfortunately it rained the entire time we were at the castles. So now to the main focus of the trip...BERLIN! We got to see the Reichstag, which is the building where the German Parlament gathers.
Even though security was tight and the wait was long, we got to hear quite a bit about the view point at the top of the building. 
I also found out that Berlin is the most visited Capital city in the world.
Other highlights of the visit were checking out:
.the Berlin Wall.
.Checkpoint Charlie. (the division point between East and West Berlin.)
.The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The museum was underground and there were 3,000 of these symbolic pillars in memorial of the Jews. The photos are 6 Jews that were murdered during the Holocaust. You got the chance to learn a bit about their life stories.
.Unter den Linden. Rick Steves describes this attraction as a "leafy boulevard through the heart of former East Berlin, lined with some of the city's top sights" like the Brandenburg Gate (Tor). I find the Königsallee in Düsseldorf nicer than Unter den Linden.
.Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate). Awesome site at night!
And the final thing that Berlin is well-known for is their unique walking figures for the pedestrian crosswalks (Ampelmännchen). They are different in East Berlin than in West Berlin and the rest of Germany. When you see these Ampelmännchen, you are in East Berlin:
So I found Berlin to be a really awesome city! Like I was told...there is no other city like it in Germany. Berlin has it's own unique identity, particularly when you consider that this single city experienced the entire German history (good and bad) first-hand. Unfortunately the weather hindered our adventures a little, but it was still a lot of fun. We managed to have a lot of fun in the evenings ranging from the encounters with some interesting and humorous drunk people (a.k.a. Benny) to always having to wait on the Latin Americans (because they aren't used to being on time) to meeting up with my fellow CBYXers, Claire, Ian, and Sylvia. The one thing that I really cherish about my experiences with AFS is that when I'm with other exchange students, I feel like I can always relate to them more than to someone who hasn't been a foreign exchange student before. Therefore it's always awesome to meet up with them and have countless memories and jokes.
Bis dann,
Matt
P.S. I found 5 Dunkin' Donuts in Berlin. I encouraged everyone try my favorite donut: Boston Creme. All that had tried it, found it delicious! I forgot how much I miss them.
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