Not only was today a momentous occasion for being my 100th day away from home, it was also exam day AND the beginning of our journey to Berlin.
After taking the (thankfully, relatively easy) history exam in which I wrote too much (no surprise there for those who know me ... or are reading this blog for that matter) it was home to pack and off to the train station. Our plane for Berlin was to leave the next morning - from Brussels though (such is the way of the hunt for cheap flights - did I mention the flight was only 40 euro return?). So we got the train to Brussels where we had booked a cheap hotel room (same price as a hostel so why not treat ourselves, right?) for the night, near to the airport so we could catch our 7am (or thereabouts) flight to the German capital.
But from the moment we stepped off the airport shuttle bus at the Formula1 hotel the signs were not good. There was a nice looking Ibis hotel, an Accord ... and then our excuse for a hotel. As we were trying to check in the police and an ambulance showed up and stormed into the F1 (presumably called out for a drug overdose!). Once inside, the smell of cigarette smoke invaded our nostrils as we ascended the stairs (no lift in sight) to our "room" which had no toilet or shower (they were down the hall, in separate rooms, similar to aeroplane toilet cubicles, which apparently were self cleaning - red light on door means "cleaning", green light means "clean" ... SO misleading). The places was a DUMP! (worse than the Green Tortoise Mum) There was dirt and who knows what else all up the walls, the sheets were a suspect colour, all the "linen" was pilling and fluffy and the whole place stank. We were knackered from the travel and had an early start the next day so there was only one thing to do... go over to the Ibis hotel bar and have a drink in the hopes of sedating ourselves enough in order to fall asleep!
Day 101 (Wed) - On the road again...
Never have I been so grateful for an early start! We were out of that hell hole of a hotel ASAP. Check-in at the airport was a breeze, no lines at that time of the morning for budget airlines apparently... but what we hadn't counted on was the security check line. They're nuts for it in Europe... making people take of their shoes and belts and things before they even go through the metal detector thingy. And the whole process moves SO SLOWLY. And of course, because we weren't used to the rigorous process, we showed up late and were in a rush... which of course meant that Nakita, my Aussie travel buddy, had to get stopped for a check. After copping as much action as she's had since she left her bf at home (from an overly feely airport security lady) it was back on with the her boots and off to the gate. (Curiously, at the same time Nakita was getting her pat down, there was what looked like an eight-year-old girl getting a security check next to her!! Really? What is an 8-yo going to stuff in her bra?!! hrm...)
But from there it was smooth sailing. Lobbed at the Generator Hostel in Berlin (thanks for the recommendation Matty, and I'd recommend it to anyone else - 100x better than the F1, clean, friendly and all you can eat bfast - yes!) After a much-needed shower (no, we did not avail ourselves of the facilities at the F1) we found ourselves at THE BEST German restaurant for lunch. Cheap and cheerful, the No 1 Kartoffel Haus (actually calls itself the No.1 potato house in Berlin) served up EVERYTHING potato ... potato soup, baked potatoes, fries, rosti, mashed potato, potato salad... even potato pancakes ... as well as the expected array of sausage and sauerkraut :) See my lunch below ... served with the perfect Pilsener.
A post-lunch wander led us to our now-favourite bakery chain in Europe where I promptly ordered "ein Berliner" and stuffed it, custard and all, in about 2 seconds flat. Also discovered this cool soft-gingerbread-type heart-shaped chocolate-covered christmas cake thing, another hit :) On the downside, Berlin streets are quite confusing, the number will be going up one way and then all of a sudden they start going down, but then it might be different on the other side... weird, we never did figure it out while we were there! After some traispsing through the high fashion stores of Berlin (trying on 400 euro fur-Russian hats, just for fun) it was time to call it a night.
Day 102 (Thurs) - Hitler, the Holocaust and the Wall
First stop today was a brand new exhibition about Hitler at the German History Museum. Apparently it was the first time an exhibition had focused on the man, more than the Nazi movement or the war etc - a controversial approach in Berlin, we were told. Worth it though, the exhibition as a whole really brought his rise and fall together, kind of made you understand how it could have happened, where his support came from, how he manipulated and used force and how people went along with it. I can't say I understand why it was all allowed to happen but I suppose I have a better understanding of how, if that makes sense.
After a quick pitstop at our favourite baker chain for a fresh pretzel and a coffee (yes, an actual coffee, apparently European Lauren drinks coffee... sometimes, anywya), the next stop was the Holocaust Memorial. Above ground it looks like the pic below, concret blocks all the same width and lenght but different heights. Our walking tour guide later told us there could be a number of interpretations - coffin boxes, the rise and fall of a graph (as in number of jews killed as Nazis gained and lost power) etc - but, as the next picture shows, it also has the effect of making you feel very cold, lost, confused and alone when walking around the maze it creates.
Under thise maze-like creation is the actual Holocaust Museum. It tells the story of the Holocaust in a time line and then from the perpsective of Jews who wrote letters to family or kept diaries etc. I actually found myself brought to tears at some of the quotes, and that's not meant to sound corny, but I was genuinely surprised at how much of an effect it had on me to read, for example, the panicked letter of a little Jewish girl who expressed in a letter to her father that she didn't want to die, that she was too young. The fact that, at that age, she had to grasp the concept of impending death was profoundly saddening. And you could also sense the panic that she and others would have felt... The exhibition also gave me a much better understanding of how widespread the Holocaust's reach was. A map showed where all the camps and transport points were all over Europe and I was schocked to see some as far down as the Greek Islands, where the Nazis even put Jews on boats to bring them to mainland camps from tiny Islands.
After our time there it was definitely time for some mental relief so we went to check out a German op-shop. It was really cool to see the difference in style - both between Germany and Oz op shops, and in time as there were some really old coats and hats and stuff there. An absolute gold mine for the dedicated op-shopper. I however made the mistake of trying on a pair of skinny leg jeans near one discerning German woman who told me they looked a bit... well she couldn't think of the word so she said something in German to the young German guy next to her who then translated... "tight" Bahahaha embarrassing much?!?!
Last stop for the day was the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. Our walking tour guide later told us it wasn't worth visint but I thought it was great. All stories of how people tried to go over, under and through the Berlin Wall to try to get to the Western side. Stories of excape included a woman who hid in two suitcases on the backseat of a car with a gap cut through the two sides of the suitcases that touched, a guy who cannoed his was around a body of water, a father who set up a flying-fox from one building window to another, women who "swapped husbands" with women on the Western side to pretend they lived in the West and a guy who got hit with a self-detonating bundle of schrapnel as he tried to scramble over the wall. Crazy stuff...
That night we were joined by two more girls from the guesthouse - Scottish Katie and Kathleen - and we hit up our No.1 Kartoffel Haus again for dinner. Wanting to try something traditionally 'Berlin' I ordered the currywurst and sauerkraut (a weird kind of skinless spongey sausage that I'm not sure contained actual meat, covered in curry sauce.... but the sauerkraut was good, had bacon in it too). For dessert we ordered an array of things containing apple - the second favourite staple in Berlin, after the potato. Apple strudel was the hero dessert while the potato pancakes with apple pure were like a hash brown covered in baby food :P And in true Eruo style we had an appertif - German schnapps, 50% alcohol when straight from the bottle, but they set it on fire in little cups and it goes down to about 30% alcohol! haha
Before bedtime, we went to check out the Brandenburg Gate all lit up at night, as well as the glass dome on top of the Reichstag (the German Parliament).
Day 103 (Fri) Walk this way
Walking tour in the morning, really informative, took in all the expected landmarks and more and the Aussie female guide told a great story about the press conference that (mistakenly) announced the Berlin Wall would come down. She also pointed out the line of bricks on the ground that showed where the old wall used to run. After a short break for German cheesecake (as one does in Germany) we went to see the longest remaining section of the wall - the East Side Gallery (the bit with all the mural paintings on it). The art and slogans there really made me think about the difference in attitudes between the 60s, when the wall went up, the 80s when it came down, and now.... Also, I was lucky to have done history as a class in first period because everything we'd learned over the past 8 weeks was now right in front of me! Unlike studying these things at home it helped me to realise they actually did happen, and this was where...
Capping off another big day, we lined up to climb to the top of the Reichstag glass dome. In all honesty I'd had it by then and it was a quick trip up and down but the view was pretty cool. Dinner that night was not at the Kartoffel Haus... and therefore nowhere near as good! But I did keep up my daily intake of Berliner donuts by grabbing one on the way home for dessert!
Day 104 (Sat) - Final day in Berlin ... also day before Halloween
After a few days of information, culture and history it was time to focus (even more) on food. We headed to a market this morning where we picked up a bunch of goodies for a picnic lunch - highlights included apple wine (told they worship the apple, although I'm surprised there wasn't potato wine!), apple strudel, houmus!!!! (its been so long...although it wasn't as good as at home), rolls made from the same dough as pretzels and ... get this ... pure melted cheese scraped onto bread. no joke, they just cut a big wheel of cheese in half, put it cut side up under a griller and when the top layer is all melted they just scrape it straight off on to bread, bit of salt and parsley or something similar and voila.... my god was it delicious!
With significant food babies as a result we thought it would be a great idea to go clothes shopping! Google had thrown up an op-shop in Berlin where they sold clothes by the kilo! again, an array of felt hats (complete with feathers), massive fur coats, russian hats, stoles/stolls (you know, the fur scarfe things) etc etc.
That night we partook in a Halloween pubcrawl - 5 pubs, crazy costumes (including my cow-print apron which will look smashing with my bike and was a big hit with the other pub crawlers - as seen in the pic below), finished up about 3.30am...
Day 105 (Sun) - No rest for the wicked
Pity we had to get our train to the airport at 4.30am. So no sleep for us. After 2 trains to the Berlin airport, a flight to Brussels, 3 trains to Maastricht and a bus back to the guesthouse it was definitely time for a nap!!!
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