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Published: March 25th 2010
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With Mike and Alex both having left on early flights back to America Land of Dreams, day four was to be shared between myself and Mike's sister Jacquie. After annoyingly having to change rooms and leave our luggage in the storage facility we grabbed breakfast and then headed out for an epic day of walking.
First stop was the department store where I had to buy inserts for my shoes my feet hurt so bad. Both are swollen and blistery, but since I have so many things to see and do I just can't help but wear them down every day. We also had a wonderful time in the food section which was filled with enough sausage and smoked fish to take me to heaven. I had a cute little conversation in German with a random woman who started talking to me. I told her I didn't really speak German, but that didn't stop her from asking where I was from (she guessed England, and when I told her America she guessed I was from Texas - gross), what I was doing, and whatnot. I really do want to continue with German after this little whetting of my appetite for
the language.
For maybe the next hour we headed westward while exploring Berlin's Tiergarten, the massive public garden in the middle of the city. It it quite sprawling and I found it way more tranquil than any other major world city's garden I've been in. We side-tracked briefly to check out the residence of the Berlin Philharmonic, a hideous modern yellow structure, then continued on through the park. For lunch we stopped at a wonderful biergarten, Café am Neuen See. There we sipped hearty mugs of Hacker Pschorr and enjoyed lox and cream cheese on sesame bagels while looking over a nice little lake. We were entertained the whole time by this odd-looking maintenance worker that kept bouncing about digging things and spreading around black gravel while wearing hot-aquamarine overalls. Continuing on our way we passed through the outer parts of the Berlin Zoo where we saw some ostriches, llamas, and other mundane animals.
Our next objective was marzipan way to the West at Königsberger Marzipan, an adorable little shop in Charlottenburg. West of Tiergarten was essentially an entire other Berlin we had yet to have seen, full of cute shops and restaurants and very vibrant. We thought
it was closed, but actually we were just retarted and didn't try to open the door. The place was adorable and I enjoyed a selection of little marzipan treats with pistachio, orange, coffee, and others all covered in dark chocolate. Amazing.
Stopping at a liquor store to buy a bottle of water I came upon some awesomely cheap beer glasses. I absolutely love the beer glass culture here, where each beer served comes in its own fabulous glass. Hopefully I can get these babies home!
Not far from here lay the Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin's largest palace and only building dating back to the Hohenzollern family's reign. It built in the 17th Century and was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg. He would later become King Friedrich I of Prussia. We weren't in the mood to tour the beautiful yellow structure, but we did relax in its gardens for a bit before hopping on the U-Bahn back to the hostel. Perhaps I'll have some to check out the interior on my last day.
Back in East Berlin we enjoyed an über-cheap falafel dinner along with a tasty nut bread we bought at
the supermarket. Later we joined Jacquie's friend from school in London for a couple of drinks at Georgbräu, a nice brewery on the Spree recommended by a friend who had lived in Berlin for a year. Absolutely spent we then headed back home for the night to rest up before my last day in Germany!
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Dad~
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Glad to hear you're not letting blisters get in the way of sightseeing, eating and drinking. You make your family proud! You've whetted my appetite for travel to Germany.