Blogs from Berlin, Berlin, Germany, Europe - page 130

After arriving in Berlin in what was ostensibly the longest day of my life, I left the hotel to experience German beer. As it turns out and as was expected the brew was both expensive and refreshing. Some friends and I started a conversation with a man from Copenhagen who after speaking with for some time deemed that I be called "the jokester." The following morning, September 12, I went on a bus tour of the city. A notable sight during the tour was Peter Eisenman's Holocaust Memorial. This memorial consisted of hundreds of granite blocks arranged in such a way that it appears to be a wheat field on a windy day. Although this affect was not achieved when I experienced the monument, other people claim to see the creator's intent. The afternoon was spent ... read more

Berlin ...is one of the younger European capitals with the river Spree running through it. First it was a successful trading city, then the capital of Prussia and finally the capital of Germany. The Potsdam conference in 1945 divided Berlin in four sectors occupied by Soviet, US, British & French troops. In their attempt to staunch the flood of refugees, the GDR (German Democratic Republic) decided in 1961 to surround West Berlin with a wall and shoot anyone attempting to cross it. The Berlin Wall finally came down in 1989 and in 1990 Germany was officially reunified and Berlin once again became the capital. Trouble at Standstead..!! ....Saturday 2nd Sept and we arrive at the airport on time....no problems so far... obviously should have known everything was going far too smoothly...... for a cynic like me..... ... read more

There seem to be three types of youth hostel in the world. Type one is the traditional "Association" hostel. They are generally large, clinically clean, sparsely furnished, characterless buildings that act as a kind of processing plant for school, scout, girl-guide and other "youth" groups. They rarely have bars and the corridors are packed with screaming kids. At night you are kept awake by the sounds of juvenial hysterics and shouting teacher/parents/instructors. Type two is where we stayed in Berlin. It is a butique hostel that caters for all walks of life but is essentially a landmark on the Eurorail Booze Cruise. It is large, decked out in young, trendy, Ikea-esque furniture and looks like it may have been copied out of a magazine. It is instantly recognisable by the large number of teenage American homecoming ... read more

I knew exactly when we crossed the border into Germany as it was a smooth ride on nice wide lanes, a far cry from the Polish infastructure. The 10 hour bus trip from Kraków to Berlin was a hellish one but we got there. I had met a girl from Melbourne and the endless talking made the trip seem to go a bit quicker. I arrived late to my pre booked hostel in Berlin and so the plan was to get settled and head for a quick beer before bed. So you know my plans never go to plan. The hostel I stayed at had several bars and is a real party place. After 6 beers, several shots, conversations with people from Norway, Netherlands and Northampton, I stumbled to bed. As I woke, I found I ... read more

German efficiency. BMWs every third car. The once dominant military commanded by Hitler. We learned about the war, the Nazis, and the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall. But I can´t believe we made it all the way to Germany without a sighting of the Hoff. David Hasselhoff that is. At least we got to see Hotel Adlon where The King of Pop himself dangled his baby over the balcony. I can´t believe that wasn´t in our guidebook. We arrived to Berlin from Paris via Belgium on a cramped night train. Our six-person couchette was the size of a closet and we were packed like sardines one on top of the other. Luckily, a young German guy spoke English and he helped us reach our final destination. We decided to take a break from self-touring ... read more