Berlin

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Berlin
We arrived at Berlin in the early evening (about 4:30pm), but it was already dark. Our hostel was supposed to be quite close the train station so we started hiking there in the rain. In retrospect, if we'd seen the sign that said our hostel was 200m on the right at the first intersection we came across, we probably would have turned that way. But oh no.... we had to not see the sign, turn right and spend the next 45mins wandering the streets looking for our hotel which had been so close to us! So Fu$@ing annoying.
Anyway when we finally reached our hotel and chucked our gear in our room, we headed off to find something to eat. We had dinner at a small vegetarian restaurant - the food was amazing and we were very happy to once again taste the excellent German beer.

The next day we got to the early free walking tour at 9am led by the Pom Rob, who was a very good tour guide. We saw some of the major sights in Berlin including the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Checkpoint Charlie, Hitlers Bunker, the Gestapo headquarters, the book burning sqaure, Humbolt University and of course, the Brandenburg Gate. It was an unreal tour and Rob had some very interesting stories about Berlin. After that we headed to a Museum called "Topography of Terror" which was situated on top of the Gestapo headquarters and had a huge amount of information about the Nazi Regime. A quiet night followed and the next day we decided to hit the Red Berlin tour - all about the GDR.

Our Kiwi tour guide - a girl called Ice (thats right... Ice - we nicknamed her Vanilla) was also very good and took us on a very extensive tour of Berlin and giving us a great history lesson about the period following the war, the erection of the Berlin Wall in 1961 and its fall in 1989. We saw the old USSR embassy (now the Russian embassy, but still with the communist symbols adourning it), a "ghost station" (metro stations in the GDR that allowed West Berlin trains to pass through but not stop) and a section of the Berlin Wall that had been restored to how it looked during the end of the communist regime, with the death strip intact. The best part of the tour though was when Vanilla took us to the largest Soviet Memorial in Europe just outside of Berlin. This place was huge - about the size of three or four football fields and some massive statues, including one of this big Russian dude who had a 7m sword in his hand, a German baby on his arm and was crushing a swastika with his foot. I dont care what you say about the Russians - they know how to build a statue. Seriously though, the place was amazing and it was just getting dark as we were finishing which gave the whole place a slightly eerie feel.

The day was quite intensive and we thought the best way to unwind was to go on a pub crawl - so we did. We started at funny little bar in East Berlin which looked like a condemmed building. We had free beer here and we made some friends with three girls - an Israeli anf two English ladies. A top night ensued and culminated in a dance club on the River Spree where we busted our stuff until 4am. On the way home, the bratwurst man had expertly positioned himself just near the exit of the nightclub and I thought it wise to reward his brilliance with the purchase of a number of bratwurts, which were all consumed well prior to getting home.

The damage the next day was minimal and with the exception of a late start, there were no after effects. We went up to the flea markets, which were easily the best markets either of us had ever been to. There was stuff everywhere, and there were people who looked like they'd just packed up their bedrooms that morning and were selling anything and everything. I got a cool ampelman shirt, saw some really cool stuff and had lunch.

Next we headed down to the Tiergarten area to have a look at an old church. The remarkable thing about this church was the fact that it had been heavily damaged during WW2, but it hadnt been restored - it still looked the way it did following the end of the second World War. We then headed back to the Jewish Memorial for an english walking tour and spent the next few hours in an amazing Jewish museum, which among other things, recounted some individual stories of Jewish people and families affected by WW2. It was a harrowing place and should not be missed on any trip to Berlin.

Following this tour we heade dover to the Reichstag and went for a walk to the top of the Cupola for some great evening views of Berlin. We were quite lucky (and a bit worried) though, because the next day on the news it was announced that the viewing dome of the Reichstag was closed due to threats of terrorism.
The following day we headed back to the Topography of Terror to finish reading about the Nazis. So much information in this place and it took quite some time to read through different aspects of WW2. After that we headed back to Humbolt Uni (where Einstein studied and taught - we felt at home) for a shirt before walking to the East Side Gallery - a section of the Berlin Wall which remains in its original position and has been painted. Pretty interesting stuff.

The next day we got up early and jumped on a train - next stop Amsterdam!!!

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