Germany

Location: Berlin, Germany

Travel Time: June 18-20, 2014

We spent a full day touring Brussels and then it was off to Berlin. The train ride was relatively short and we had plenty of food in Brussels so the commute was easy. When we arrived in Berlin, we met up with our good friends Matt and Michelle Archer. They lived not far from Chicago, however, shortly after getting married, Matt was offered a job position in Berlin. They relocated about a month after Tj and I had gotten married so this was our first time seeing them in almost 2 years. It felt great being reunited. They lived within walking distance of the train station so transportation was not an issue.

The Johnsons and the Archers

We only had a few days in Berlin, so of course, we tried to make the most of it. We started off by attending the meeting with Matt and Michelle. The Kingdom Hall was an old assembly hall so there was room for several congregations, including an English one. It was so nice meeting all of the friends. Afterwards, we went around the corner to a small pub where we sat outside, had great conversation and watched the World Cup playoffs.

With Matt & Michelle after their meeting.

One of my favorite highlights of visiting Germany was our visit to Sachsenhausen, the former concentration camp in Oranienburg (http://www.stiftung-bg.de/gums/en/index.htm). Upon arriving, Tj decided it was best to put on our convention badges in case there were any other witnesses touring. Needless to say, we didn’t see any; however, the gentleman at the front desk recognized our badge saying ‘I have something to show you.’ To our surprise, he brought out a photo explaining how everymorning for role call, it was easy to identify Jehovah’s Witnesses because they always stood together. This was so touching to see. We opted for the audio tour since we were by ourselves. I really liked the tour because it was easy to coordinate the sountracks to the specific location you were standing at. All in all, Sachsenhausen left us both at a loss for words. Being there and knowing all the pain and persecution that was brought on innocent people was devastating; even more so, on our brothers. However, despite the sadness there was definitely a measure of pride when learning about the stand our brothers took. Knowing they remained faithful despite persecution was definitely faith strengthening to us both.

Our final moments in Berlin were spent eating some amazing doner kabobs, drinking some German beer and visiting the Berlin Wall. It was really cool to see such an important part of history still in tact and easily accessible to the public. We did a lot of walking around; the wall itself was very easy to navigate.

Delicious doner kabobs

A remaining piece of the Berlin Wall

Overall, we had an awesome time in Berlin. Spending time with friends is something we will never forget. At to do it in such a beautiful city filled with history was definitely the icing on the cake. Our friends have since then moved back to Chicago and had a beautiful baby boy. But we still would love to go back and visit other parts of Germany soon.

For the full album, please ‘click’ on the link below: