Magical Reunion

Four months away and the less than perfect journey to get to Carter in Berlin made our reunion that much sweeter. It was Carter’s last day of her school program so we went straight from the airport to her school to see her dorm, meet her roommates and friends and get a first hand look at how she had been living. She took us on a walking tour of her regular haunts, but then we had to leave her because she had her farewell dinner.

Russ and I checked into our hotel and walked up the street to get dinner. Carter texted us through dinner and came and joined us at our hotel for a little more time before she went back to school to finish packing and one last nights sleep.

Bright and early this morning she and her best friend Olivia moved Carter and all four of her suit cases into the hotel. Thank goodness we came to take her belongings home. Olivia and Carter took us to their favorite breakfast spot when parents are paying, Benedict. Getting to know Olivia in person was such a treat, since she became such a wonderful friend to Carter. Our time together was short because she was off to catch a train to visit her German grandmother.

Carter took over as Berlin tour guide. Four months taking a class on Berlin the 21 century city, one on the Holocaust and one on the politics of the EU made Carter not just a good guide, but an excellent lecturer at all the sites she took us to today. We started at the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, the Tiergarten and then had an extensive visit at the Memorial to The Murdered Jews of Europe, otherwise known as the Holocaust Memorial.

The outside of the Memorial was a sobering city block of 2000 cements blocks varying in size from two feet tall to over twelve feet tall, which you can walk between in single file. It is overwhelming to be swallowed up inside the Memorial. After walking through the maze of blocks we toured the underground museum where Carter gave us an in-depth summary of the Holocaust. I think she got her tuition’s worth in that class.

To lighten the mood after that sad tour we walked over to one of the many Christmas Markets. It was beautiful, with lights and vendors and smells of special German Christmas foods and drink. Carter and Russ sat at a bar and kept warm, while I toured the stalls. Since it is the first of the many Christmas Markets I plan to visit I did not go wild.

We U-Banned to a Turkish restaurant and had a wonderful dinner and then Carter hit the wall. Four hours of sleep her last night at school had finally caught up with her. We walked out of the restaurant to snow. The perfect magical ending to a wonderful first full day back together.