Berlin, Belgium, Bolivia: Beware!

Before going to the US, I wanted to enjoy the beautiful diversity of Europe and of course join my SIFE Leiden team (see www.sifeleiden.nl) to Bolivia, where most of our projects take place.
The reason I wanted to go to Berlin was mainly because my sister was doing European Voluntary Service there at the Schlessische Art Institute in Kreuzberg. I heard from so many people that Berlin is such a great town, that I really had to see that place. With my sister and her housemates (she´s living in Friedrichshain) as guides, I was introduced to the most obscure bars and clubs. What I really loved of East-Berlin was the fact that in any empty industrial complex or office building there could be a stage, DJ or theater hidden behind doors coverd with graffiti or other art-forms. So the night-life was great, and during the day I enjoyed the funny and strange surroundings of east- and west Berlin where you can probably find the most dense combination of a big range of cultural, historical and ideological infuences. I especially liked to see all the remnants of the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik): all the huge buildings, memorials, avenues (named after Karl Marx, Lenin etc), parks and of course the Berlin wall. It's really strange to walk around those eastern neighbourhoods, take the underground and get off at the foot of the most modern entertainment, shopping and business-centers at Potsdammer Platz.
After taking in all these different impressions for 4 days I said good-bye to my sister and went back to Holland, but not for long. The next weekend I first went to Maastricht and after spending the night there, me and Ignas, a friend of mine took the bus to Vaals and walked up to the Vaalserberg, with 300 meters above sea-level the highest spot in the Netherlands. It's also the 3-country-spot, where the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany meet. So from there we crossed the border and walked into the Ardennen, a beautiful area in the eastern part of Belgium. There we enjoyed the nature, railroads, views and local beer hiking and camping for 3 days until we reached Trois Ponts, a small village from where we took the train back to our own low country.
And when I got back, I had about 1 day to get ready for my next trip: visiting Bolivia with SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) Leiden (see www.sifeleiden.nl). After helping to set up a number of development projects there for the past year, I finally get the chance to see it all with my own eyes!