Berlin- Day 3: The Rest

After the tour we headed over to the East Side Gallery which featured a lot of murals on the Berlin Wall. It was beautiful and sunny, and Jen and I had to break out selections from The Sound of Music. Enjoy:

After that we headed over to the Memorial to the German Resistance and although it was all in German it was very moving. I really wanted to stop there because I find it beyond courageous that these people stood up to the Nazi regime. It is also nice to know that even during all the atrocities that were occurring people were trying to do the right thing.

Statue of a nude man bound in chains to represent the German people under the Nazis

We stopped for a quick dinner and then did some souvenir shopping. After getting that out of the way we headed over to the Reichstag to see the views from the top. There were nice views and the air up there was refreshing if not a little cold.

We had a very early morning the next day because our train left at 6:30 so we headed back to the hostel and took it easy by journaling and checking our email.

Berlin- Day 3: The Tour

An abridged version of Louis's tour

Get ready for a history lesson! Strangely enough one of the most heartbreaking days was also one of my favorites. Germany has somewhat of a tragic history and I am so glad that I got to learn more about it. And I apologize for the length of this post.

On our second day in Berlin we planned to go on the New Europe Tour, which is a 3.5 hour long walking tour that is free but you are encouraged to tip at the end. For anyone visiting Europe and only has a short time in a city this is the best way to see all the major sites and hear the history from people who really know what they are talking about.

Before we hit the tour we went to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, which was very steep at 9.50 euro. It was somewhat interesting because it had stories of a lot of the attempts made to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin. Some of these included homemade submarines, chairlifts, aircrafts, not to mention tunneling through or stowing away in the trunk of a car. They also had a US room that had footage of Reagan saying “tear down this wall!”

Brandenburg Gate

At 11 it was time for our New Europe tour so we headed over to the Bradenburg Gate, which it the most recognized structure in Berlin and once divided East and West. Victoria, the goddess of victory, on top of the arch looks directly at the French Embassy in order to remind the French of their many military defeats to the Germans. Our tour guide was Louis from Manchester and he was pretty dreamy with that British dialect and historical knowledge. He knew so much about Germany and the tour was one of the highpoints for my whole ten day long vacation. Here is my abridged version of the tour:

The hotel where Michael Jackson hung his baby off the balcony.

Reichstag-the Parliament building. It was set on fire by Nazi arsons to help cause panic that would bring Hitler to power. Now it has a glass dome at the top so that if the politicians ever forget who they are serving they can just look up.

The Memorial to Murdered Jews- obviously the memorial for Jews killed in Europe during the holocaust. This memorial is located in the middle of the city and is pretty unavoidable, although it is unmarked. Therefore you will probably stumble upon it and not know what it is. The artist says that you can interpret it how you want but Louis interprets the grey columns as a bar graph for the rise of anti-Semitism, starting off just below the surface and then rising to uncontrollable heights during the third Reich. It is also supposed to give an eerie feeling when you walk through it because you cannot really see what is coming at you and the columns tower over you. One error that was made in the construction of it was that they used anti-graffiti paint that was manufactured by the same company who provided the gas for the gas chambers. Oops.

One thing that I found very interesting throughout the day was how open the Germans were about their past and how sorry they were. They don’t want politicians to get out of control so they put the dome on top of the Reichstag so symbolic effect or they don’t want people to forget about what happened when Hitler came to power so they put the Holocaust Memorial right in the center of town, where not only the politicians came see it but also the business district who benefitted from the Holocaust. They also take precautions to make sure it never happens again. For example, if anyone throws up the Nazi salute they are immediately arrested.

The site of Hitler’s bunker. The bunker itself it somewhat collapsed and the government is not reconstructing it so Hitler is not glorified. They also do not want Hitler’s followers to go down there as a pilgrimage or to worship him. It is unmarked except for a small sign showing a map of what lies underneath. It is basically in an apartment complex’s parking lot.

We then walked to the building that used to be Nazi Headquarters. The name is scratched off because after the second World War they tried to cover up the Nazi aspects but that eventually came impossible.

As you can see, it's a lot of fun in East Berlin!

The Current Finance Building- before being the finance building it was both German Military Headquarters and Soviet Headquarters. On the side of the building is a mural of Soviet propaganda showing how great it is to be Communist. In front of this mural on the ground is a picture of the people of the June 17, 1953 demonstration who were killed. This mirrors the idealic scenes shown in the mural to the reality of the time.

The building is thought to not have been destroyed in WWII because it could have been a landmark for pilots or because they British didn’t want to bomb the German Military Headquarters because they thought the Germans might get upset and bomb them in return.

The Berlin Wall- remaining parts of the Berlin Wall. Louis explained all the obstacles facing someone who wanted to go to West Berlin, the least of which was the wall. You did not get to the wall until you went through snippers, machine guns, dogs, landmines, and the electric fence. It’s very tragic that people who want a better life couldn’t go get one.

The owners of this land were killed in Auschwitz and there is currently a legal battle going on to decide who it belongs to. On one of the concrete walls in the plot there was graffiti that said “Bring back the Wall.” Approximately 12% of the people of Berlin want the wall back. East Berlin still isn’t up to the economic strength of West Berlin (it is 25% poorer) and unemployment is at 14% for the country.

After a break for lunch Louis talked to us a little about the history of Berlin and explained that the Bear is the symbol for Berlin but no one really knows why. Jen tried to keep warm during this conversation by doing all sorts of aerobics but I don’t think it helped a lot.

French and Dutch Churches- these churches were built as a place for refugees to come worship. The Dutch church is slightly higher than the French Church. I starting to think that they Germans think they are better than the French.

Book Burning Memorial- here at the university in Berlin thousands of books by Jewish and homosexual writers were bruned after the students heard a speech by Nazis. Now there is a memorial in its place which is a window down to show many empty bookcases. They also have the famous quote by Heinrich Heine which says “Where they burn books, they will ultimately also burn people." Hauntingly true.

Now the students of the university sell books outside everyday as atonement for what the students before them did. Another example of the remorse that they German people feel. Einstein also went to this university for undergrad but was kicked out for his “dirty Jew physics.” He showed them.

Memorial for Wartime and Tyranny- memorial under which both soldiers and victims from both Nazi and communist Germany are buried. This obviously causes a lot of controversy but soldiers are looked at as victims too. The statue on the inside is that of a mother holding a dying child. The sculptor who created this lost her whole family that the statue represents the helplessness she felt.

The Berliner Dome- giant protestant church in Berlin. Anti-communist meetings were held here in secret. Here Louis also explained to us how the Berlin Wall fell and the role David Hasselhoff played in it.

Alexander Platz- salute to the glory of Socialism. This TV tower is the second tallest in Europe and was built for the 20th anniversary of Communism in Germany. When the sun hits it, however, the light forms a cross that is called The Pope’s Revenge.

And so concludes the tour if you are still reading. I know it was long but it was so interesting!

Berlin- Day 2

Building at Sanssouci

Our second day in Berlin turned out to be the least eventful of the entire trip, in part because we were still missing Jen and Stacy and in part because none of the gardens at Sanssouci weren’t in bloom because it was March. Here is the recap:


We woke up early-ish and headed down to breakfast in the hostel. The breakfast there was decent and the rolls that they served were phenomenal; we each had about three. After breakfast we had to check-out then check-in because we were gaining two people and you have to redo the whole things when two more come. It wasn’t that much of a hassle though. We then headed out to the royal city of Potsdam.

Potsdam wasn’t that hard to get to because we just took the subway to the train and rode that for a while. Everyone was pretty tired on the bus but the forests that we passed on our way there were beautiful and really gave me the feel of being in Germany. After all, the thing I most associate with Germany is the Black Forest because I am a fan of their ham.

Once we got to the train station we had to take a bus to the actual palace and park. Once we got there we walked around the royal gardens taking pictures. I’m sure in the spring and summer it is beautiful because even in the winter it was a nice stroll. There were a lot of stairs there and on one particularly long stretch we ran up while singing the song from Rocky. Because it was so cold the water in the fountain was frozen and Laura had never seen a frozen body of water before because she is from Melbourne, Australia so it was a big day for her. Wait until Vienna where she sees a squirrel for the first time.

Gardens

Palace

When we got to the palace of Frederick the Great it was a giant let down because all the brick façade was fake. No joke. And it wasn’t even nice looking fake bricks, just some plywood with bricks stenciled on. The LT stage craft class could have done a better job. If I am right about my German history, the palace got bombed during the last days of the war which might account of the façade, but I don’t know. But I digress. While in the bathroom the washroom attendant (you have to pay to use washrooms at many tourist attractions) asked Laura if she was Australian and followed that up with “Didn’t Australia fight in World War I and II?” Laura is not sure where this was going because she answered yes and then ran away into the sanctuary of the woman’s room.

After finishing up there we went into the town and got some food at Bistro XXL which served kababs, which Brittany and Stevie ate, among other things. Laura and I had the pommes fritas (French fries) as recommended by Papa Fish. While we were there these cute triplets, which were about two kept coming up to us and trying to talk. We were unsure if we couldn’t understand them because they were speaking baby talk or some other language but there was for sure a language barrier. After a late lunch we walked around the town a shopped a little. It was a really cute place and it was nice to be outside the city.

Streets of Potsdam

One adventure occurred when we were trying to catch the bus back to the train station. Brittany, Stevie, and I ran across traffic to catch it but Laura decided that they did not want to risk their lives and were stranded on the other side. Brittany went on the bus to tell them to wait for a minute for Laura but the bus just ended up leaving with her on it. It wasn’t a big deal but a small adventure none the less.

Stevie, Jen, Brittany

We got back to the hostel and waited for Jen and Stacy to arrive from the airport. They came a day later because Jen’s boyfriend was in and left that morning. Once they got there we primped and went out in search of food. We ended up eating at Der Kartoffelkeller. It was really cute because it was kind of in the basement and had brick walls. They had a lot of potato dishes which isn’t surprising considering the name translates to The Potato Cellar. Laura and I split schnitzel, a German specialty, and fried potatoes with bacon and onions. Yes, it was as good as it sounds. Both Jen and Stacy got beer there because it is literally cheaper than water. Unfortunately they said that the beer they got tasted like Keystone Light. Just like being back in Chambana. Our dinner conversation consisted of Stevie and I elaborating on the long term effects of an affluent childhood and especially attractive physical characteristics on the development of children, especially when your father is the lawyer of the man who murdered your mother's best friend. In case you hadn’t guessed, we talked about the Kardashians, one of my favorite topics.

After we finished all our potatoes we went in search of nightlife but really couldn’t find any. Maybe we were in the wrong part of town and West Berlin has all the bars and clubs but we came up empty handed. Stacy and Stevie decided to continue to search while the rest of us went back to the hostel to clean up. We then did some journaling and budgeting and headed to bed because tomorrow promised to be an adventure filled day.

Berlin- Day 1

Brandenburg Gate

And so the recount of the adventures that occurred on Spring Break begins. I wrote in my journal every night and many nights the whole "Dublin Wolfpack" journaled together (one of the best memories of the trip), so this should be a pretty detailed account. Buckle up because a lot happened!

On March 6, 2010, Brittany, Stevie, Laura, and I headed to the airport to catch an Aer Lingus flight to Berlin. We ended up running for the bus that brought us to the airport which was not necessary because we got there very early. We used this time to chat and ponder how safe it was to get on a plane where they allowed my razor through security. They also didn't even check our passports until we boarded the plane. I'm here to tell you that the Irish are really as easy going as you hear. Another interesting thing about a lot of flights in Europe is that you board the plane on the tarmac. I don't know if this is typical or if I am just taking really cheap airline carriers that can't afford those little hallways. I don't mind the tarmac and have been know to give a little Miss America wave when walking down the stairs from the plane.

We landed in Berlin a little late but I didn't mind because I was excited to be in the Heidi Klum's homeland and to get my passport stamped. I was also energized because in anticipation of coming to Central Europe I listened to the soundtrack to The Sound of Music on the plane. I think Laura might have been embarrassed as I mouthed the words and teared up a bit during "Edelweiss." We then took a train to the subway a finally ended in the heart of Berlin where we used the compass on Laura's luggage to find our hostel.

One of the highlights of Berlin was all the David Hasselhoff glory. As we approached our hostel there were a group of boys dressed up like David Hasselhoff, complete with wigs and life preservers. I, of course, have a soft spot in my heart for "the Hoff" because he too went to Lyons Township High School and graced the Reber Center stage. I was even voted "The Next David Hasselhoff" for senior superlatives along with my friend Robert Montgomery. People ask me why I was given this honor and I tell them it is because I have great hair and look good in a bathing suit.

In Berlin we stayed at the City Hostel and it was very nice and had a great location. The first four to arrive got a room to themselves and when Jen and Stacy came all six of us were together like we were at camp. Over the entire trip our good luck with hostels and hotels continued.

City Hostel Berlin

The first thing that we wanted to do when we got there was find some dinner and we asked the front desk worker where he recommended. He sent us pretty far away from the hostel and we couldn't really find any good authentic German restaurants so we ate at an Asian fusion place. It was good food, although spicy, and the waitress didn't bring us water for the longest time. The four of us were all happy to be on vacation and that night there was a lot of laughs.

After dinner we went to see the Brandenburg Gate lit up at night. We took some pictures there, and I even took pictures for another group of people and counted to three in German. I thought that this was amusing but I think the other girls were just embarrassed.

We walked around that area and did some souvenir shopping then headed to find some dessert. There was a nice Italian place that seemed to have good gelato so we headed in there. We got inside and I kinda thought that it smelled like dog so naturally I said something to the other girls. This started a question of whether we could stay there due to the aroma of man's best friend so I tried to tell them that it only smelled like bread. This gave us one of the best quotes from Laura: "smells like bread...rubbed in dog." We decided to stay there and ordered two things of ice cream, one of which looked like spaghetti but was really ice cream.

We got back to the hostel and checked our email and called our parents. Checking our emails and responding became quite hard during the trip because the keyboards there are very different, the biggest difference being the switching of the z and y keys. Also, whenever I tried to type an apostrophe I got an "a" with an umlaut. I hope this explains some of the typos you may have received over the past ten days.

We turned off the lights early but kept talking a laughing like we were at a sleepover. All in all it was a good start to the Spring Break adventure!

The Spring Break Adventure continues with Berlin- Day 2.