Going to Munich and other adventures...

Last weekend, I went to Munich. It is about an hour away by car. We went to the Deutsches Museum, the biggest technology museum in Germany. It had lots of interesting exhibits about almost everything.

Next we went on a sight seeing bus. It took us around the city centre, showing us lots of historical buildings like the Teatiner church, the Bavarian Parliament House and the old city gates.

























This weekend I went swimming at a water park with slides and a spa and a sauna and a big pool. It was about 15 minutes away. On Sunday we went to church. At church we sing songs, read bible verses, say prayers and eat cake and bread.

On Monday (today), it snowed for the first time this season. When I woke up and saw that there was snow I was so excited. There was a little bit less than a centimetre but it lasted all day and there is still some around. Hopefully it snows more in the next few days

The snow this morning on the way to the bus

It's also getting darker in the morning. When we get on the bus at 6:37 the sun is nowhere to be see and when we arrive at school at 8am it has only just got light. It would be fun if it wasn't so early! Sometimes, you can see a really nice sunrise over the mountains.

At school, not everyone always speaks German. People swap between German and Bavarian, sometimes even mid conversation which makes it very hard to understand.

I am looking forward to going skiing on a Glacier in Austria in two weeks.
I will write about it in my next blog.
Robin. 

Berlin

This week, my host family took me to Berlin.

Victory Column

We flew from Munich on Monday afternoon.
After landing in Berlin, we went to our hostel near the middle of the city.

On Tuesday we looked at the famous landmarks of Berlin. First, we walked through the Tiergarten park to get to the Victory Column, a 67 metre tall tower built in 1873 after the Unification Wars against France, Austria and Denmark. There is a spiral staircase inside and from the top there is a very nice view of the city.

Brandenburg Tor

After that we walked down the street to the Brandenburg Gate. There was a fancy meeting happening so we couldn't get as close as usual but it was still very cool.

Next we walked to Checkpoint Charlie, where people crossed from West Berlin to East Berlin.

We walked across the city to the Gendarmenmarkt. It is a big square with some old palaces and an opera house.

Then, we went to Alexanderplatz and saw the Fernsehturm (TV tower), the tallest building in Berlin. We couldn't book a place to get inside until Thursday.

Finally, we went to the Berlin Wall Memorial and museum. It was very interesting.

For dinner, we went to a traditional German pub.

Gendarmarkt

On Wednesday we went to the Palace of Tears. It was a museum about the crossing from East Berlin to West Berlin by train. Then we walked to the Museum Island. It is an Island in the river Spree covered in museums (about 5 of them). We went in to the Pergamon museum. It is about ancient history in Europe and the Middle East.

Holocaust Memorial

The next stop was the Berliner Dom, a big cathedral in the middle of Berlin. It was built in 1905.

Berliner Dom

After a quick look at the dome, we caught a bus to the Holocaust Memorial. Above ground, it was a big area with lots of concrete blocks. Underground, in the museum, there was an exhibit with lots of information and sad stories about the Holocaust.

The last thing we did on Wednesday was go to the Sony Centre, a big shopping area. We looked at the Berlin Mall, and then had dinner in an Italian restaurant. It's right next to a "Traditional Australian Restaurant."

Sony Centre

TV Tower

On Thursday, our last day, we got up and went to Alexanderplatz by underground train. We went to Alexaplatz, the biggest shopping centre in Berlin. After a short shop, we went to the TV tower for our booked visit. It is 368 metres tall, the second tallest building in the EU. The view from the top was really good. Berlin has no real skyscrapers, which surprised me, so we were a lot higher than anything else in the city.

The last stop of the trip was the Technikmuseum. We didn't have much time before we had to go to the airport, so we only looked at the aeroplane and ship section.

The View

Technik Museum

Then, we took the underground to the airport and flew home. It was a very fun trip but we were all tired by the end. Thanks to my wonderful host family for taking me.
                                 
Robin