Junsdorf, Berlin, and Nuremberg Germany

Dream quote spotted on the Berlin Wall

“I take pride in the words Ich bin ein Berliner.” - US President John F. Kennedy, June 26th 1963, West Berlin

(Unfortunate translation: I am a Jelly Doughnut.)

This post includes Junsdorf, Berlin, and Nuremberg Germany, since we only had brief stops in each city on our Spring Break Choir Tour!

On the way to Berlin, our day started with us performing in the small village of Junsdorf, Germany. It was the first time an American choir had sung in their town church, which has been open 400 years! So incredible getting to make history in such a beautiful village.

Everyone from the village came and talked to us after the service, they were so kind! They gave us Easter presents of chocolate bunnies and flower seeds! The church congregation was so grateful to have us come to their service, and some of the German children ran up to sing with us! Definitely one of our most rewarding gigs of the semester. I have always personally loved our gigs in smaller churches and congregations, because you can see how connected everyone is and how God works through a small community.

My choir teacher and the Junsdorf pastor looked almost identical! Talk about a dopelganger...

We continued on our three hour bus ride to Berlin, and drove through Checkpoint Bravo into the city.

During communism, The Soviet Union divided Germany into two parts: East Germany and West Germany. So many people were emigrating to West Germany that the Soviet Union convinced the German Democratic Republic to build a wall between East and West Berlin. East Germans could no longer travel or emigrate to West Germany, and many got split up from their families or jobs.

David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, and David Hasselhoff performed events near the wall to support its deconstruction. There were huge protests, and many people died trying to illegally cross the borders.

On 13 June 1990, the East German military officially began destroying the Wall, and a few months later both parts of Germany were reunited!

Pictures from visiting the wall

Created in 1990, the most famous painting on the wall, "My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love," shows Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker kissing. This painting is based on a photograph that captured the moment in 1979 during the anniversary of the foundation of the German Democratic Republic.

Headed over to Checkpoint Charlie, and got my passport stamped!

Stamps from all of the different countries that used to come through the checkpoint

The Brandenburg Gate

built in the 18th century, the gate went on to symbolize freedom and unifying the city

Reichstag building - The German Parliament Building

Berlin State Opera

The city of Berlin is set on Spree River, close by Museum Island! (An island full of all the museums of the city!)

We only had half a day in the city, so after our bus tour my mom and I headed over to the Berlin Easter markets!

We were able to eat some Bratworst before there was a protest regarding the Turkish elections, so we quickly left the market. My mom and I did some souvenir shopping and then ended our night at a German restaurant! Berlin is a city chalk full of history and culture, I definitely want to go back and spend more time in the city!

The next morning, we woke up and started our journey to Salzburg Austria! On the way, we stopped for the night in Nuremberg.

We got into Nuremberg around 8 pm, so headed off to see The Nuremberg Castle before it got dark!

The Nuremberg Castle was built during the Holy Roman Empire as an Imperial Castle. Emperors and Kings ruled the people until after the 30 Years War in the late 16th century. During WW2, a huge part of the castle was destroyed during air raid bombings, and it took many years to completely reconstruct. Much of Nuremberg was completely leveled during WW2, and there was a huge period of rebuilding.

Future band album cover?

The castle looked amazing lit up at night

Another day, another castle I would like to live in.

We walked around the town square at night! It has a similar layout to Old Town in Prague! So incredible that everything in the center was destroyed and reconstructed. A city with such a dark history from WW2, I am happy to see that they tried to rebuild the important buildings and restore the culture and life of Nuremberg. I would love to come back here during the day time and see the city!

The Frauenkirche ("Church of Our Lady") built in 1352 by Czech favorite Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV!

Finished off our short but sweet time in Nuremberg with some apple strudel and icecream! Nuremberg was great in my books, definitely want to come back for more time! The next morning we drove by the building where the Nuremberg Trials took place after WW2. Many Nazis and people in the Gestapo were tried for war crimes and sentenced to death in the court building. The court room they were tried in is actually still in use today! Could you imagine getting tried in the same building?