Even though the trip included both Berlin and Switzerland, I'm going to break up blog posts again. Just because the two places are so completely different!
Jackie and I (along with Andrei and his cousin, Cesar, who happened to have the same flight as us) flew into Berlin SXF airport Wednesday morning and easily navigated to our hostel, Heart of Gold, which was in the popular Mitte district. We had registered for a 26 bed dorm room, so needless to say, that's exactly what we got. 26 beds, huge room, infirmary/hospital style. Just me, Jackie, and a group of Spanish-speaking guys from Spain (of course I chatted them up in what little spanish I have... ending the conversation awkwardly at "y es todo el espanol que yo se" -- that's all the spanish I know).
Even though it was such a huge room, it was clean and the beds were pretty comfy. Our outer space themed hostel definitely grew on us.
Jackie, Andrei, Cesar and I went to Pariser Platz by the Brandeburg Gate to meet up with our Sandeman's Walking Tour (same company I've used in every other city!). But on the way, we stopped to eat lunch at a currywurst place in the train station. YUM. so delicious. Then we ran into a Dunkin Donuts (yes, an actual Dunkin Donuts, not Spain's Dunkin Coffee version) and I think Jackie and I were in heaven with our iced coffees. Here's Jackie's photo of us and our beloved DD iced coffees...
The 4-hour walking tour was super interesting, and our tour guide knew a lot about the city. We saw the Hotel Adlon (where Michael Jackson hung his baby over the railing), the site of Hitler's suicide bunker, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, site of the Book Burnings, Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and Berliner Dom among many other sites. Berlin has so much history (that I actually wish I knew about before the tour, so I could connect things and be like oh, so that's where it is!), but oh well. Our tour guide was good about giving us a quick history of the city.
Here are some pics from the tour!
Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
Berlin Wall
Jackie and I at the Berliner Dom
After the tour, we relaxed at our hostel for a bit and grabbed some dinner at a salad place nearby, then walked toward Hakescher Market. Along the way (5 minute walk, keep in mind) we spotted approximately 25 prostitutes lining the street. I was not aware Berlin had a prostitute scene like that. But lucky us, found it. Super sad and depressing to see girls dress like that and stoop to such a level to get some money. Definitely dampered my Berlin experience.
But, I couldn't help but sing this song in my head...
Anyway, Jackie and I had some yummy weiss beer at this outdoor cafe, a.m. to p.m., at the market. The seats were little wooden cocoon swings. So cute! And they gave us blankets because it was pretty chilly outside. Danke! (thank you!). Then we got another currywurst. Can't get enough currywurst.
On Thursday, Jackie and I grabbed our Dunkin Donuts iced coffees and headed over to the Reichstag (parliament building). Unfortunately it was closed due to some security thing, so then we walked to the Jewish Museum. Let me just say that I love student discounts... my student card has saved me so much money on museums and attractions these past few months!
The museum was GREAT! Really interesting design of the building, the exhibits were all really artsy and meaningful... and informative. A lot of content was covered and I think even in the 2 hours we were there, we didn't get through all of it. While it did cover the Holocaust, the museum was intended more as a history of the Jewish people in Europe, so it was nice to see more than just the tragic part of Jewish history. After that, we walked back toward the Berliner Dom, stopping to get lunch. Guess what we ate? Bratwurst. We needed a little bit of a change from currywurst, but not enough of a change to throw us off from our sausage diet.
Jewish Museum...
Then it was back to the hostel for a nap and also where we were meeting Jen and Alex, who had flown into Berlin that morning and were off on the same walking tour we did the day prior. We all grabbed dinner at this little natural foods restaurant a few minutes away... I ended up with some potato wedges and a delicious salad with apples, raisins and nuts in it. Yummy. We were all pretty tired so we hung out at the hostel for the rest of the night, talking with Andrei and Cesar. I think we all had a lot of fun, just keeping things casual.
Friday morning, Jackie headed back to London (even though we wish she could've joined us in Switzerland!) and Alex, Jen and I jumped on a plane to Switzerland (that adventure, to be continued in next blog post!)
But, my thoughts on the trip:
Not a big fan of good ol' Berlin, actually. Everyone says Berlin is supposed to be this awesome city, but for some reason, Jackie, Alex, Jen and I couldn't find what was so awesome about it. Was it the currywurst? Because then I'd have to agree. I loved how historical the city is, and I think it's really interesting how it's still rebuilding. But that rebuilding, left a lot of construction throughout the city and no real unified culture or identity. As Jen said, Berlin is having a bit of an identity crisis. Fair enough. But I just never really grasped where I was... in Munich.. I knew I was in Germany. In Barcelona, I knew it was Spain.. Dublin.. Ireland, etc. But Berlin? I feel like I could've been anywhere. It was a big industrial city, and even when the sun was out, I didn't find it to be visually stimulating. Am I being too harsh on Berlin? I had a great time with the girls, and I saw a lot of the city with the walking tour, and the currywurst was great and it was a very affordable trip.. but I left feeling kinda "meh" about it. I really wish I had discovered what is so great about Berlin, because I know there has to be something, and I feel bad for leaving with such a so-so outlook on it. Sorry Berlin, but Munich was my favorite German city.
Best part of Berlin:
I am glad I went though!! :)
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