The reason for choosing a place to visit will determine the lens through which you will experience it. Please bear with me as I mention a few too many buildings— this trip was all about architecture!

Berlin welcomed us under the guidance of our professor. We had nine days, a class of twelve people, a relentless professor, and a lot, a lot of buildings to explore. These nine days would be the bulk of this four-credit class, all we had for the semester, aside from some Zoom meetings and long writing prompts. With so much ground to cover and so little time, our schedule was tight!

Our stay, something between a hostel and a hotel was the perfect spot for our endeavors, a short walk away from a main bus/metro terminal. Despite the exhaustion from travel, our professor wasted no time. Our first stop: the East Side Gallery, a preserved section of the Berlin Wall, running right along the avenue of our hotel. Covered in striking murals, it stood as a vivid reminder of the pain endured during its existence and the freedom that followed its fall. As we strolled along the sidewalk tracing the wall’s path, we were treated to a stunning sunset over the Spree River.

An unexpected highlight of our trip were the rentable electrical scooters scattered around the city. Despite the chilly German winter, we would use any chance we had to ride these, which made it a lot more fun to go around the city, even at night— on our way to/back a night out.

Berlin is known to be a capital for culture and Museum Island is one of the living statements of that. A complex containing six museums, a couple of them connected underground, this area is a blast for anyone interested in architecture and design. As someone who loves museums more for the buildings than the expositions inside, this area was a lot of fun— ranging from ancient construction and modern additions, walking around here was a treat. My favorite thing about the city, and especially this area, is how existing, new, and renovated structures come together— how the history is written on the materials— with such care not to bury the past, but to incorporate it as part of the new.

Another architectural highlight of this trip was walking around Berlin’s 1957 Interbau site. As a “social housing initiative launched after the Second World War” this area also plays a big part in the architectural interest of this city “Under the leadership of Otto Bartning, the new, upper-class Hansaviertel district became a prestige project to demonstrate the superiority of the West over the East. Based on an urban development competition, 53 internationally renowned architects were selected. The old block structure was replaced by a mixture of high-rise and low-rise buildings in the heart of a park landscape. The Hansaviertel district is now considered an example of large-scale modernist refurbishment for urban developers.” (Architectuul) The many living complexes and the two libraries here are so fun to walk around, especially if you’re interested in architecture, of course!

As I said, this was my most culture-complete trip in Europe. Amidst our architectural explorations, we had the privilege of attending a mesmerizing orchestra concert at the Berliner Philharmonie—a beautiful experience in a beautiful building!and the Reichstag. I don’t want to dive too deep into architecture- as this is not the interest of this post, but I could not talk about Berlin without mentioning our afternoon in this building. This is an amazing adaptation project, another must-see for any architect visiting Berlin- but it is also one of the most beautiful sunset views I had of the city. They have a rooftop cafe that is hard to get reservations to, but worth it just so you can visit this area during golden hour.

And I could not forget to mention the two architecture offices we visited! We were welcomed with beers and an amazing presentation on their projects and design process. These were amazing opportunities to understand how architecture competitions work and to see their incredible portfolios.

One unforgettable memory—I lost my phone in a metro train on our last night in the city! Given- I never got it back and had to spend a large part of my study abroad budget on the same exact model I had before.

It is not always that we have someone as determined as our professor was to give us a well-rounded tour of a city in only nine days, so even though we were freezing half the time, and dead by the end of each day- it was worth it.

My impressions? You will not run out of things to do when visiting Berlin. And if you have a special interest for history and architecture, this place will inspire you in so many ways. It is bustling with cultural spots to visit, a ton of museums, and incredible restaurants. Beautiful libraries, and monuments that will get you thinking about a variety of topics. In my opinion, this is a city that vibrates redemption in its roots, each museum and monument tells this story of how a city that was once a symbol of division has grown into a melting pot of cultures, diversity and progress.

While architecture is not the focus of this post, it has inspired me to delve deeper into each place mentioned. Stay tuned for a guide to Berlin’s must-see architectural wonders!

Once again, these are my impressions and experiences. Traveling gives us the opportunity to learn, grow and immerse ourselves in new cultures, but it will always be a personal conclusion- through the lens of our own experiences. It is personal, and I hope my reflections inspire your own adventures.

Looking forward to our next journey through my travel journals!

Wishing you a wonderful week. Keep dreaming!

Berlin Interbau 1957.” Architectuul, Architectuul, architectuul.com/architecture/berlin-interbau-1957.