Berlin - Berlin, Germany
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entry & travel map
Berlin, Germany
This morning I put on the top I bought in Moscow with the hope that I could get rid of my tan lines from earlier on the trip (so I wouldn't have lines for Angelina's wedding. Unfortunately the weather did not agree with me and it was overcast and dreary. We met at the hotel lobby to catch the tram and were in downtown Berlin at the Alexanderplaz in no time. Here we walked to a park and met our guide for the morning. The guide was an American girl who was a student in Berlin and did tours in her free time... and she was amazing! You could tell she was following a script at times, but she didn't have any papers with her and was crammed full of interesting facts! When she first met up with us she gave us a lot of history on the city of Berlin, which included the Second World War and the Berlin Wall era. We also got all of this information in front of a statue of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels... so it seemed somehow apropos! As we began the tour it started to drizzle out, and only about half the group had umbrellas. I still had my slightly damaged Dutch umbrella, but ended up lending it to Kristy and sharing an umbrella with Rhian.
The tour was a walking tour through Berlin. The first stop was the Bebelplaz. Here we looked at the memorial to the 21,000 books burned by the Nazi's. The memorial is simply a room with empty bookshelves, symbolizing the books that were burnt. The room itself is underground and you can see it through a glass pane in the ground. As we had been walking that morning, and even the day before, most people in the group had noticed the Walk/Stop lights, or as we called them, the "Stop-Go Man". These had been the traditional lights in East Berlin, and after unification when signs would stop working they would be replaced with the traditional West Berlin Walk/Stop lights, as normally West Berlin was seen as having the 'better' way of doing things. The East Berliners were not impressed with this idea, and argued to have the cute little Stop-Go Men used instead... and the city relented and now we have the cute little Ampelmännchen all over the city.
The next stop on the tour was a metro station that had been closed for some 28 years when the Berlin wall was up. The Berlin metro had ran throughout the city, and when the wall went up there was a problem about what to do with the metro. The people in the East decided to board up the stations, and the trains would run from the West, through the East without stopping, until they were in the West again. These stations were known as ghost stations, and even now seem somewhat 'darker'. Although perhaps I just heard the story and was seeing the station through jaded eyes!
We wandered on to Pariser Plaz where the Brandenburg Gate is. This is also the location of the Adlon Hotel, which is where Michael Jackson dangled his baby off the balcony, and our tour guide even pointed out which balcony that was. Here we had about 15 minutes free time, and the slight drizzle had turned into rain. Kristy and I decided that we better buy umbrellas (mine was not holding up well with 3 spokes poking out), so we went to a souvenir shop and got umbrellas. I even got one that said "Berlin" on it... although though it cost another 2 Euro! (Apparently I've got money to burn!) With the rest of our free time we went to Dunkin Doughnuts and grabbed a coffee and I had a doughnut. Even though it's a well know American chain, neither of us had ever been to one, and it seemed at least a little more exotic than Starbucks! I was going to throw my broken umbrella out, but I thought it would be nicer to see if some umbrellaless soul in the group would be able to use it. I asked David if he wanted it, and he said no. I was a little surprised so asked again, just to be sure, and again he said that he was fine. At this point I didn't understand, and made it clear that I was going to throw the thing in the garbage, and David finally agreed that he could use it!
From here we walked to the Jewish Holocaust Memorial. The memorial is a bunch of grey, granite blocks, in row upon row, that start off smaller (waist height), and become bigger towards the middle of the memorial (double or triple me). The monument is designed to make you feel oppressed, and being there on a dreary, rainy, grey day, they had the intended effect. We had time to walk through on our own, and it was easy to get lost in the blocks and feel small and insignificant. Kristy and I walked through, and even though there's nothing dramatic at the monument, I still felt that it was moving and poignant.
After the Holocaust memorial we walked to Hitler's bunker, which is underneath a residential complex! Here we were told about Hitler's last days, the discovery of his bunker and the discovery of his remains, which are currently in Russia. We also learned that in Germany it is illegal to basically exhibit Nazi or Hitler-loving behaviour. Our guide told us that a man had been jailed for naming his dog Adolph! From the bunker we walked past bullet-riddled walls to the Topography of Terror (big painting) and we saw another portion of the Berlin Wall. Our tour ended at Checkpoint Charlie, where people had the option of heading back to Alexanderplaz with the guide, or going off on their own. Several of us decided we needed pictures of ourselves at Checkpoint Charlie. Kristy and I also wanted to go into the museum, but the wait was over an hour, and we only had the afternoon left in Berlin, so instead we hit up a souvenir shop, where I managed to buy myself a Russian jumper! Also, in a 'believe how much I spent on the two jumpers!!! Since I was a little cold I decided to put on my fancy new Russian jumper, but was stopped by Reky. I'm still not sure why, but Reky would not let me wear my Russian jumper because it was Independence Day. It made no sense to me, and I stared at him in total bewilderment for a good 30 seconds before placing my pretty red jumper back in the bag and pulling out my Berlin one instead. Luckily it was as cozy as my Russian one, so I was only sad for a minute.
By this time it was past 1pm and we were getting hungry. We had been told there was a revolving restaurant at the top of the TV Tower in Alexanderplaz so we decided to go there to eat, and grabbed the train. It took a couple minutes to figure out which train we needed, but eventually we found one and started to get on. The doors began to shut, and we saw Rhian and Troy standing on the platform. One stop later we got off and waited for the next train, where we rejoined the boys! On the train ride to Alexanderplaz, Kristy, David and Rhian decided to talk in a made-up language for the duration of the train ride. I can't remember any of the sayings they used, but they insisted it was normal Aussie slang. At this point I gave up trying to understand the millions of words and phrases that consist of Aussie slang, and settled on just overusing my three favourite words: random, heaps, and nackered. I also became convinced that someone would make up sayings "fair dinkum" other than when they try to pretend to us Canadians that they actually use it, and also, really, can you ever be hungry enough to eat the crotch out of a dead Leper's undies!!! (thanks for the visual David!!)
When we got to the TV Tower, some people were worried about the price of the food in the restaurant, and the cost to go up the tower. After a lot of standing around, we finally got to the top of the tower, although only Jenn, David, Stacey and I made it on the first round. The four of us got a table, and tried to get a table for the last five, but something was lost in translation and we got our table and the others had to wait in line. The prices on the menu were reasonable, and we all ordered a drink and our food. While waiting for the food I went to check on the others, and Kristy, Rhian, Tom, Reky and Troy were enjoying the view on the other side. The view from the restaurant was pretty good (worth the 8 Euro to me), but the restaurant itself was spinning a lot faster than I'd expected! You could actually see it moving! At one point Jenn was standing and leaning on David's chair, and within five minutes she had almost fallen sideways! The food was good, and we enjoyed the break from the rain and all the walking we did that morning.
After lunch several people decided they were going to go back to the hostel, and the rest of us decided to take the train to the Reichstag. We got off at one stop, and saw a sign that said "400m Reichstag" and pointed in one direction. So we followed that sign and a little while later saw a sign that said "600m Reichstag" ... something was not working! We reversed directions and eventually made our way to the Reichstag. Again the line looked too long to walk to the top, and we'd just been to the top of the TV tower anyways, so we just took pictures. Then Stacey and I wanted to go to the Jewish Holocaust Museum, and the others wanted to go back to the hostel, so the two of us broke off on our own. Again my impeccable sense of direction came into play, and I led us in the wrong direction. Luckily I had a map and figured it out after a block! At the memorial we walked through, and couldn't seem to find the entrance to the museum! It took a while, but we eventually located it, and then waited in line. While in line it really started to rain, and the line wasn't moving. After about 20 minutes we looked at our watches, and realized that by the time we got in we weren't going to have much time in the museum before we would have to go. So we gave up on the museum and took shelter in a souvenirs shop for about 15 minutes. I also got the last of the souvenirs I needed to bring home. As well, I got myself a Stop-Go Man door sign (like in hotel when they have a door sign that says "Do Not Disturb"). Kristy and I had seen one earlier, and joked that we'd have to get one and put it up that night when we got home from the bar. I saw one at the shop, and it was a little too amusing ... so I decided I had to buy it... just in case we needed it that night (plus it's cuter than a sock on the doorknob!!) After our shopping Stacey and I walked to the train, took the train to Alexanderplaz, and then found the Tram to go back to the hostel. And we didn't get lost once! Although we came close when we were near the hostel as there are two stations that have almost the same name!
At the hostel Kristy was attempting a nap, but by the time I got out of the shower she'd decided that it wasn't going to work, and got up and got ready for the Berlin Dinner and Nightlife tour. That night I had a fat moment, and couldn't find anything I wanted to wear out! I hadn't bought many bar clothes since I quit smoking a year ago and gained a bunch of weight... so everything looked horrible on me! I picked something, and Kristy was decked out in the dress she bought in Warsaw, and we were ready to go! We took the tram downtown, and had a long hike to our restaurant, which was a crazy potato place! We sat down, and were joined in the restaurant by the Eastern Road tour. At supper, David was sitting beside me and as usual bugged me about taking so long to eat my meal. When he went out for a smoke we all got dessert, and I had eaten most of mine by the time he got back in. I commented to David that I was finally going to finish a meal before he did, and he laughed and said he was sure he'd still finish first. I looked at him and said, "No you won't!" and crammed the rest in my mouth... all 4 bites! My mouth was so full I could hardly chew, and David's laughter did not help with the swallowing! I finally swallowed it down, but not before a moment or two when I thought it might come out my nose! After the meal we had time for photos with all the tables, and then went outside for shots of Peach Schnapps before our first bar. Jenn was helping pour the shots, and ended up holding the empty bottle with no garbage bin in sight... so she wandered through the streets of Berlin with a bottle of grog in true lush style!
Our first bar of the night was a Turkish Sheesha lounge. Most people here ordered a sheesha and within 20 minutes the place was filled with a distinct smoky haze. With all the sheeshas around me I was reminded of my trip to Egypt and had a nostalgic moment or two where I happily gazed around and saw the pyramids on the Giza plateau rather than my tour mates in Berlin! I also sat beside Ryan for a bit at the bar and we ended up having a great chat! Ryan had been on the Scandinavia tour and was one of the first Scandi people (along with Dane) to actually integrate with the group as a whole. Beyond small conversations here and there I hadn't talked to Ryan much, but after our brief chat at the Turkish bar I wished I'd gotten to know him better.
The next bar we went to was a little trendier, and here we enjoyed some slushy shots and many more pictures. Reky and I also had what was probably my first and only work related conversation of the tour. I'd had a couple drinks by that time, so probably wasn't as coherent as I could have been, but I think I managed to hold my own in an intelligent conversation! I think I also may have surprised Reky a little, because I know I tend to come off as an airhead, but am actually quite educated, and this may have been the first time he saw that side of me! We chatted about the effect of the sub-prime mortgage sector, specifically as it related to new construction (Reky's a civil engineer), and it's ramifications on the U.S. and international economies. We chatted for a while at this bar, and then we were on to the third bar of the evening, which was a funky little pub with a live band. The singer was good and took requests, which included Happy Birthday for Kenny and American Pie. Here we met Tom's little brother and his friend, and is he ever like Tom! The kid was hilarious, although by no means as cool as Tom! Then we were on to the last stop of the night, which was a nightclub where we could dance the night away. The nightclub was a lot of fun, and we all danced and drank a lot. We also met the Eastern Road tour here, so the place was crowded and subsequently really hot. I could only dance a couple songs in a row before I would start to die from the heat. I spent a lot of time in the bathrooms, not because I have a small bladder, or that I was praying to the porcelain gods, but because it was the only place in the bar that seemed air-conditioned! During the night Tammy, some others and myself were sitting in an un-crowded area of the bar, and started talking to two German guys. The two guys were from the countryside, and really nice. They were also there with Mona, who was from Berlin, and it was her birthday! We ended up talking to her and dancing with her for most of the night and she was absolutely hilarious and a lot of fun to hang out with!
Slowly everyone started to leave, until it was only Kristy, Troy, Rhian and myself. We all wandered out and found a Kebab place that would satisfy our after bar hunger. Rhian and Troy got some kebabs, and Kristy and I each got a Cheeseburger and fries (with heaps of mayo for the fries). After loading up on food we went to find a way home. I'm not sure why, but we were sure that we could take the tram home, even though it was about 4am, and we found a tram with the right number and tried to get on. Since it was locked up tight we eventually gave up and grabbed a cab back to the hostel.
entry & travel map
Berlin, Germany
This morning I put on the top I bought in Moscow with the hope that I could get rid of my tan lines from earlier on the trip (so I wouldn't have lines for Angelina's wedding. Unfortunately the weather did not agree with me and it was overcast and dreary. We met at the hotel lobby to catch the tram and were in downtown Berlin at the Alexanderplaz in no time. Here we walked to a park and met our guide for the morning. The guide was an American girl who was a student in Berlin and did tours in her free time... and she was amazing! You could tell she was following a script at times, but she didn't have any papers with her and was crammed full of interesting facts! When she first met up with us she gave us a lot of history on the city of Berlin, which included the Second World War and the Berlin Wall era. We also got all of this information in front of a statue of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels... so it seemed somehow apropos! As we began the tour it started to drizzle out, and only about half the group had umbrellas. I still had my slightly damaged Dutch umbrella, but ended up lending it to Kristy and sharing an umbrella with Rhian.
The tour was a walking tour through Berlin. The first stop was the Bebelplaz. Here we looked at the memorial to the 21,000 books burned by the Nazi's. The memorial is simply a room with empty bookshelves, symbolizing the books that were burnt. The room itself is underground and you can see it through a glass pane in the ground. As we had been walking that morning, and even the day before, most people in the group had noticed the Walk/Stop lights, or as we called them, the "Stop-Go Man". These had been the traditional lights in East Berlin, and after unification when signs would stop working they would be replaced with the traditional West Berlin Walk/Stop lights, as normally West Berlin was seen as having the 'better' way of doing things. The East Berliners were not impressed with this idea, and argued to have the cute little Stop-Go Men used instead... and the city relented and now we have the cute little Ampelmännchen all over the city.
The next stop on the tour was a metro station that had been closed for some 28 years when the Berlin wall was up. The Berlin metro had ran throughout the city, and when the wall went up there was a problem about what to do with the metro. The people in the East decided to board up the stations, and the trains would run from the West, through the East without stopping, until they were in the West again. These stations were known as ghost stations, and even now seem somewhat 'darker'. Although perhaps I just heard the story and was seeing the station through jaded eyes!
We wandered on to Pariser Plaz where the Brandenburg Gate is. This is also the location of the Adlon Hotel, which is where Michael Jackson dangled his baby off the balcony, and our tour guide even pointed out which balcony that was. Here we had about 15 minutes free time, and the slight drizzle had turned into rain. Kristy and I decided that we better buy umbrellas (mine was not holding up well with 3 spokes poking out), so we went to a souvenir shop and got umbrellas. I even got one that said "Berlin" on it... although though it cost another 2 Euro! (Apparently I've got money to burn!) With the rest of our free time we went to Dunkin Doughnuts and grabbed a coffee and I had a doughnut. Even though it's a well know American chain, neither of us had ever been to one, and it seemed at least a little more exotic than Starbucks! I was going to throw my broken umbrella out, but I thought it would be nicer to see if some umbrellaless soul in the group would be able to use it. I asked David if he wanted it, and he said no. I was a little surprised so asked again, just to be sure, and again he said that he was fine. At this point I didn't understand, and made it clear that I was going to throw the thing in the garbage, and David finally agreed that he could use it!
From here we walked to the Jewish Holocaust Memorial. The memorial is a bunch of grey, granite blocks, in row upon row, that start off smaller (waist height), and become bigger towards the middle of the memorial (double or triple me). The monument is designed to make you feel oppressed, and being there on a dreary, rainy, grey day, they had the intended effect. We had time to walk through on our own, and it was easy to get lost in the blocks and feel small and insignificant. Kristy and I walked through, and even though there's nothing dramatic at the monument, I still felt that it was moving and poignant.
After the Holocaust memorial we walked to Hitler's bunker, which is underneath a residential complex! Here we were told about Hitler's last days, the discovery of his bunker and the discovery of his remains, which are currently in Russia. We also learned that in Germany it is illegal to basically exhibit Nazi or Hitler-loving behaviour. Our guide told us that a man had been jailed for naming his dog Adolph! From the bunker we walked past bullet-riddled walls to the Topography of Terror (big painting) and we saw another portion of the Berlin Wall. Our tour ended at Checkpoint Charlie, where people had the option of heading back to Alexanderplaz with the guide, or going off on their own. Several of us decided we needed pictures of ourselves at Checkpoint Charlie. Kristy and I also wanted to go into the museum, but the wait was over an hour, and we only had the afternoon left in Berlin, so instead we hit up a souvenir shop, where I managed to buy myself a Russian jumper! Also, in a 'believe how much I spent on the two jumpers!!! Since I was a little cold I decided to put on my fancy new Russian jumper, but was stopped by Reky. I'm still not sure why, but Reky would not let me wear my Russian jumper because it was Independence Day. It made no sense to me, and I stared at him in total bewilderment for a good 30 seconds before placing my pretty red jumper back in the bag and pulling out my Berlin one instead. Luckily it was as cozy as my Russian one, so I was only sad for a minute.
By this time it was past 1pm and we were getting hungry. We had been told there was a revolving restaurant at the top of the TV Tower in Alexanderplaz so we decided to go there to eat, and grabbed the train. It took a couple minutes to figure out which train we needed, but eventually we found one and started to get on. The doors began to shut, and we saw Rhian and Troy standing on the platform. One stop later we got off and waited for the next train, where we rejoined the boys! On the train ride to Alexanderplaz, Kristy, David and Rhian decided to talk in a made-up language for the duration of the train ride. I can't remember any of the sayings they used, but they insisted it was normal Aussie slang. At this point I gave up trying to understand the millions of words and phrases that consist of Aussie slang, and settled on just overusing my three favourite words: random, heaps, and nackered. I also became convinced that someone would make up sayings "fair dinkum" other than when they try to pretend to us Canadians that they actually use it, and also, really, can you ever be hungry enough to eat the crotch out of a dead Leper's undies!!! (thanks for the visual David!!)
When we got to the TV Tower, some people were worried about the price of the food in the restaurant, and the cost to go up the tower. After a lot of standing around, we finally got to the top of the tower, although only Jenn, David, Stacey and I made it on the first round. The four of us got a table, and tried to get a table for the last five, but something was lost in translation and we got our table and the others had to wait in line. The prices on the menu were reasonable, and we all ordered a drink and our food. While waiting for the food I went to check on the others, and Kristy, Rhian, Tom, Reky and Troy were enjoying the view on the other side. The view from the restaurant was pretty good (worth the 8 Euro to me), but the restaurant itself was spinning a lot faster than I'd expected! You could actually see it moving! At one point Jenn was standing and leaning on David's chair, and within five minutes she had almost fallen sideways! The food was good, and we enjoyed the break from the rain and all the walking we did that morning.
After lunch several people decided they were going to go back to the hostel, and the rest of us decided to take the train to the Reichstag. We got off at one stop, and saw a sign that said "400m Reichstag" and pointed in one direction. So we followed that sign and a little while later saw a sign that said "600m Reichstag" ... something was not working! We reversed directions and eventually made our way to the Reichstag. Again the line looked too long to walk to the top, and we'd just been to the top of the TV tower anyways, so we just took pictures. Then Stacey and I wanted to go to the Jewish Holocaust Museum, and the others wanted to go back to the hostel, so the two of us broke off on our own. Again my impeccable sense of direction came into play, and I led us in the wrong direction. Luckily I had a map and figured it out after a block! At the memorial we walked through, and couldn't seem to find the entrance to the museum! It took a while, but we eventually located it, and then waited in line. While in line it really started to rain, and the line wasn't moving. After about 20 minutes we looked at our watches, and realized that by the time we got in we weren't going to have much time in the museum before we would have to go. So we gave up on the museum and took shelter in a souvenirs shop for about 15 minutes. I also got the last of the souvenirs I needed to bring home. As well, I got myself a Stop-Go Man door sign (like in hotel when they have a door sign that says "Do Not Disturb"). Kristy and I had seen one earlier, and joked that we'd have to get one and put it up that night when we got home from the bar. I saw one at the shop, and it was a little too amusing ... so I decided I had to buy it... just in case we needed it that night (plus it's cuter than a sock on the doorknob!!) After our shopping Stacey and I walked to the train, took the train to Alexanderplaz, and then found the Tram to go back to the hostel. And we didn't get lost once! Although we came close when we were near the hostel as there are two stations that have almost the same name!
At the hostel Kristy was attempting a nap, but by the time I got out of the shower she'd decided that it wasn't going to work, and got up and got ready for the Berlin Dinner and Nightlife tour. That night I had a fat moment, and couldn't find anything I wanted to wear out! I hadn't bought many bar clothes since I quit smoking a year ago and gained a bunch of weight... so everything looked horrible on me! I picked something, and Kristy was decked out in the dress she bought in Warsaw, and we were ready to go! We took the tram downtown, and had a long hike to our restaurant, which was a crazy potato place! We sat down, and were joined in the restaurant by the Eastern Road tour. At supper, David was sitting beside me and as usual bugged me about taking so long to eat my meal. When he went out for a smoke we all got dessert, and I had eaten most of mine by the time he got back in. I commented to David that I was finally going to finish a meal before he did, and he laughed and said he was sure he'd still finish first. I looked at him and said, "No you won't!" and crammed the rest in my mouth... all 4 bites! My mouth was so full I could hardly chew, and David's laughter did not help with the swallowing! I finally swallowed it down, but not before a moment or two when I thought it might come out my nose! After the meal we had time for photos with all the tables, and then went outside for shots of Peach Schnapps before our first bar. Jenn was helping pour the shots, and ended up holding the empty bottle with no garbage bin in sight... so she wandered through the streets of Berlin with a bottle of grog in true lush style!
Our first bar of the night was a Turkish Sheesha lounge. Most people here ordered a sheesha and within 20 minutes the place was filled with a distinct smoky haze. With all the sheeshas around me I was reminded of my trip to Egypt and had a nostalgic moment or two where I happily gazed around and saw the pyramids on the Giza plateau rather than my tour mates in Berlin! I also sat beside Ryan for a bit at the bar and we ended up having a great chat! Ryan had been on the Scandinavia tour and was one of the first Scandi people (along with Dane) to actually integrate with the group as a whole. Beyond small conversations here and there I hadn't talked to Ryan much, but after our brief chat at the Turkish bar I wished I'd gotten to know him better.
The next bar we went to was a little trendier, and here we enjoyed some slushy shots and many more pictures. Reky and I also had what was probably my first and only work related conversation of the tour. I'd had a couple drinks by that time, so probably wasn't as coherent as I could have been, but I think I managed to hold my own in an intelligent conversation! I think I also may have surprised Reky a little, because I know I tend to come off as an airhead, but am actually quite educated, and this may have been the first time he saw that side of me! We chatted about the effect of the sub-prime mortgage sector, specifically as it related to new construction (Reky's a civil engineer), and it's ramifications on the U.S. and international economies. We chatted for a while at this bar, and then we were on to the third bar of the evening, which was a funky little pub with a live band. The singer was good and took requests, which included Happy Birthday for Kenny and American Pie. Here we met Tom's little brother and his friend, and is he ever like Tom! The kid was hilarious, although by no means as cool as Tom! Then we were on to the last stop of the night, which was a nightclub where we could dance the night away. The nightclub was a lot of fun, and we all danced and drank a lot. We also met the Eastern Road tour here, so the place was crowded and subsequently really hot. I could only dance a couple songs in a row before I would start to die from the heat. I spent a lot of time in the bathrooms, not because I have a small bladder, or that I was praying to the porcelain gods, but because it was the only place in the bar that seemed air-conditioned! During the night Tammy, some others and myself were sitting in an un-crowded area of the bar, and started talking to two German guys. The two guys were from the countryside, and really nice. They were also there with Mona, who was from Berlin, and it was her birthday! We ended up talking to her and dancing with her for most of the night and she was absolutely hilarious and a lot of fun to hang out with!
Slowly everyone started to leave, until it was only Kristy, Troy, Rhian and myself. We all wandered out and found a Kebab place that would satisfy our after bar hunger. Rhian and Troy got some kebabs, and Kristy and I each got a Cheeseburger and fries (with heaps of mayo for the fries). After loading up on food we went to find a way home. I'm not sure why, but we were sure that we could take the tram home, even though it was about 4am, and we found a tram with the right number and tried to get on. Since it was locked up tight we eventually gave up and grabbed a cab back to the hostel.
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