Von Munchen nach Berlin (From Munich to Berlin)

Okay, confession time. I was only in Munich for approximately 10 hours. I didn't take any photos, didn't get a shot glass (which I do for every new place I visit for my shot glass collection) and I really only went outside the hostel to have dinner, but I'm counting it because, hey, bragging rights.

When I first found out Sarah was going to be in Germany during my break, she had already booked her hostels for only two people; her and Julie. They had booked months in advance and so when I made my booking I booked myself into group dorms, essentially sharing a room with five other people that I didn't know.

I was a little nervous for this. The first two hostels I booked (Munich and Berlin) were all girl dorms, however the Prague dorm was co-ed. So yeah, could be awkward. But I figured, it would add to the adventure and it might provide good material for everyone to laugh at in the blog.

What I didn't realize is how cool it would be to meet new people from all over the world. If you ever stay in hostels in Europe, I highly recommend group dorms. Not only because they're super cheap, but because meeting people is awesome. The only downside I found is that every night I was away, at least one person snored. You would be shocked at how many different kinds of snoring there are too.

But otherwise, I've met Germans, Australians, Central Americans, Americans... The list goes on. It was cool to hear all about what they're doing in Europe, where they've been so far and what their home is like. Definitely added to the whole experience of  "travelling Europe".

So, let's talk Berlin.

As I mentioned before, I was really excited for Berlin. I kind of have this weird interest in the history of Germany, both in the World War and Cold War aspects. So, this was the perfect city. Not to mention they have a huge party scene. Did I just manage to sound shallow and cultured at the same time?

We got to Berlin in the early evening so it was already dark. After wandering around the massive central station for a while, we finally found the train that would take us to the area where our hostel was. Now I don't want to sound like a pampered Canadian, but when we arrived to this area, I was a little sketched out. There were drunk people all over the place and there was litter just absolutely piled on the side of the street. There was graffiti all over the buildings and the overall impression of it was unsafe.

We managed to find our hostel (which was the swankiest one I've been in so far, it was pretty much a hotel) and then we went off to find some dinner. As we ventured farther into East Berlin, I found that it wasn't actually as scary as I had first thought, and I started to feel a little more comfortable.

We found a nice little pub a few minutes from our hostel and settled in for our makeshift Thanksgiving dinner, which consisted of not turkey, but schnitzel. Schnitzel is basically breaded meat, it can be chicken, pork or whatever. But it was soooo good. Almost made up for the fact that I was missing turkey. Our waitress was also awesome; a level of customer service that we did not experience again for the rest of the trip.

Forever nomming

Sarah, Julie and I actually spoke about this again later on in Prague. Maybe it's just that as North Americans, we're used to a certain level of customer service, but here in Europe, shop owners and waiters just seem plain rude to customers. It's almost as if we're an annoyance, rather than the reason they have food on their tables. Now, that might sound like something a stingy tourist would say and although I find tourists in Halifax sometimes annoying, I'm always excited to talk to someone from away and to welcome them to our country and show them how Maritime hospitality is done. It just doesn't really seem to be the same here for some people.

Some people. Not all.

Our first real day in Berlin began with a visit to Brandenburg Gate. On the way there, we happened across a middle-aged American couple who were also trying to find the square. We ended up helping each other get there and going on to discover that they would be leaving to go to Prague on the same day we were. Anyway for the next 24 hours, we kept happening upon this couple and it actually became kind of funny. If we didn't see them for a little while, we would jokingly ask where Martha was, who was the overbearing wife.

Anyway the gate itself is pretty historically significant, so that was cool. But what was hilarious was what happened when we got there. There were actors in the square pretending to be soldiers and taking pictures with tourists. One of them came up a grabbed Julie and immediately had wheels on. Anyway, the two of them made her take pictures with them and were over-the-top flirting with her. It was hilarious. I thought at first they were just fooling around, but then one of them actually asked for her number and asked where we were going that night. Turns around it wasn't as much a joke as I thought.

Go Julie.

At that moment however, Martha turned up and told us she had found a free tour for us to do, because she knew we were tight on cash. We seized up the opportunity to go on a free tour and an hour later we were following around Stephanie from New Zealand as she told us all about the most notable parts of Berlin.

Like Brandenburg Gate for example, has a statue on top of the Goddess of Victory. The statue was stolen from the Germans by the French and then subsequently stolen back. The plaza which the statue now overlooks translates roughly to Paris Plaza. Get it? The Germans have Victory over Paris. What's more, the French embassy is also in the square and some say the architecture of it makes it look militarized. So, the statues face is turned to look at the embassy, as if it always has its eyes on them. Kinda funny.

That bear in the background was creepy as shit

Anyway we visited all the hotspots like the space over Hitlers former bunker (which is now a car park), the Berlin Wall, happened upon a movie set (a movie that Dave Franco was filming actually, swoon) and visited the site of the infamous Nazi book burning.

Bookshelves sealed in the ground as a tribute to the book burning

Space Magik at the Berlin Wall

It's actually crazy some of the things that that city has endured and the history surrounding it. The Berlin Wall was one of the things that touched me the most. To think that people were literally trapped behind a wall and were willing to risk their lives to escape is just incredible. I would've given anything to be there when the first piece fell. Can you imagine how gratifying it must have been to those people to tear that wall down? I think it's important that some of the pieces are still up though. Serves as kind of an eery reminder of what we are capable of, both in terms of evil acts and heroic accomplishments.

We also paid a visit to an exhibit called Topography of Terror. Basically it shows a timeline of how the Nazi party came to power, the havoc they wreaked, and their subsequent collapse. It was horrifying some of the things they did. Of course, we're always taught about what happened during the world wars, but actually being in the place where it happened and seeing pictures, makes it so much more real. I almost felt emotionally drained after leaving the museum.

After that, we went and had dinner and then bought a bottle of wine. Sarah and I drank it in her room back at the hostel and from there went out to the club down the street from our hostel called The Matrix. Apparently it's one of the largest clubs in Berlin, but because it was a Monday night, some of the rooms were closed off. It was a cool vibe though. It was built into the tunnels beneath one of the subway stations, so it felt very underground-esque. 

We got a few drinks and did end up a wee bit drunk. The music was actually sick though. I love when DJs don't try to mix every single song they play and they just play songs that we can drunk jam to. So perfect.

Would you be surprised if I said iOS7? No, probably not.

We stayed for a few hours and then went to go home. When we went outside we ended up meeting two guys from Spain who were actually hilarious. Their names were Pablo and Jose and they kept telling us they wanted to marry us and move to Canada. In my drunken state, I couldn't stop laughing. I love meeting random people who turn out to be kind of interesting and later on, the encounter turns into a good story. 

The next morning we packed up at 9am and made our way back to the central station to continue on to Prague, the next leg of the journey. I was sad to leave Berlin. I could've stayed for a lot longer. But I know now that I will definitely be back. I kind of like this whole, only staying for a day or two in one city. It's like sampling what the city has to offer. That way, when I make a plan to come back, I know where I'll want to go.

PS. Germany literally has the best treats ever. So many different kinds of cookies and candy. I was loving it.

PPS. Just remembered, on the train ride from Munich to Berlin, we had reserved seats. I went to go and sit in mine and who's taken it? A nun. An old nun. How the hell am I supposed to tell a woman of God to get out of my seat? I think she must have sensed my inner conflict though because she asked if it was my seat and I mean, at that point I can't lie to a nun either, so I said yes. Still felt awful taking it though.