Spring Break Part Two: Berlin

The next leg in our voyage was Berlin. I was really excited to go because I took German for 5 years, and in the processes learned so much not only about German culture, but we spent an entire year focusing on the German perspective of WWII, so I knew a good amount about places like Checkpoint Charlie and the Wall. First things first: after three years of not being conversational, I still know very little German. I could read some things, but definitely had been out of the game long enough that speaking and listening were impossible. The leg from Prague to Berlin was the only one we didn't fly, we took a lovely 5 hour train ride through the Czech and German countrysides. I'm really liking trains more and more, and this one, unlike the others, was Harry Potter style with the little booths of 6 seats each. It sounds cool, but its actually sort of awkward because seating is assigned, so it was me and 5 strangers all crammed in and facing one another- a bit more awkward than the traditional you look ahead at the back of the person in front of you. Luckily, my cabin of 6 quickly emptied to just three after about an hour, so the rest of the ride was smooth sailing.

Overall, I was a little disappointed by Berlin. I'm not sure if it was the crappy weather (cold and rainy every day we were there,) fact that in my mind I had hyped it up after learning so much about it, or that we had just left beautiful Prague which I absolutely loved. Regardless, I found this city sort of cold, and not all that original. Don't get me wrong, the history of the city is amazing, and I loved all the touristy things we saw, but the city as a whole just didn't grab me that much. It was much more modern than I had anticipated, and there just was a lack of character to the city as a whole. I still enjoyed being there, I was just under impressed by everything that wasn't of huge historical relevance. I also ended up taking the least amount of pictures in Berlin than any of the other cities so far, mostly due to the obnoxious rain.

The end of the trip was bittersweet. Hannah and I were departing to head to Italy on Saturday morning, but the same day Ariel was headed back to London to pack up and move back home. Luckily, we had two London friends coincidentally staying at our hostel Friday night, so we met up with them for a farewell Mexican dinner for Ariel complete with nachos and margaritas. Czech food was fun to try...we knew better than to attempt to try German food. Picky me and vegetarian Ariel gladly accepted quesadillas in lieu of the very meaty German cuisine.

Checkpoint Charlie

Casual beer bike rolling through town...

The Holocaust Memorial. The pictures don't clearly portray how massive the memorial is. Its probably two city blocks by two city blocks of steel rectangles of all different heights. The land it's on is hilly too, so as you're walking you go from being able to see over the blocks, so being completely submerged. We went the night before to see it at nighttime- super eerie. We promptly departed and agreed to visit it the following day.

Underneath the field was an amazing museum of Holocaust victims. What made this one different from others is that it was all personified. One room was dedicated entirely to diary entries found at various concentration camps, another dedicated to 12 specific families and their story as Hilter's power grew. It was stunning.

The TV tower in Berlin- or as Herr Jones students know it, das inferno uber Berlin. We watched a movie in German class about this building catching on fire and people being stranded without oxygen in the top. Every time I saw it, that was the only thing I could think of.

Top of the gate

Bradenburg Gate- connecting East and West Germany

A baby portion of the Reichstag sticking out behind another building

The Berlin Wall Memorial site. One thing I didn't know until here is that there were actually two walls. There was a shorter (meaning like 6 feet instead of 12) wall, a big gap, and then the final larger wall. The purpose of this was to make it more difficult for people to escape as they'd have two obstacles to overcome instead of one.

Memorial for those killed at the wall- those who tried to escape and were killed, those who tried to escape, knew they failed and killed themselves, innocent bystanders in the wrong place when shots were being fired, and the few wall watchmen killed in various escape attempts. 183 people or so physically died at the wall.

Decorated bears were all over the city, this one by the TV tower was my favorite though.

The East Side Gallery. This section of the wall is the longest intact portion, and stands in East Berlin as an art instillation. Various artists were commissioned or volunteered to paint murals all over the 1.3 km stretch of wall that still remains.

For some reason, I still have no idea why, the sewage pipes in Berlin are above ground and are purple and hot pink. If I knew the answer why I'd tell you. Stumped me.