We arrived in Berlin at about 7:40am an overnight train from on Munich. This train required reservations and an extra 10 euro per seat for the "sleeper chair." The chairs, however, were not very conducive to sleeping. They were rigid, and provided little room for getting comfortable, despite reclining a fair bit. What little sleep that we got was frequently interrupted by the jostle of the train or discomfort. Oh well, next time we know to reserve a couchette to lie down on. We were unable to charge our laptop or connect to the internet on the train, so we spent the morning in the Berlin train station charging the laptop and getting the contact information for James, our English host in Berlin who accepted our request at the last minute.
Once we got our hosts info in order we went to get tickets for the local transport. After much investigation at a ticket kiosk (a Berliner commented that he thought that Marisa was gambling at the machine) it turned out that it would be less expensive to purchase daily passes than buying a 3 day pass, which was costlier because it factored in discounts at various attractions, restaurants, etc. Unsure of where to begin first, we consulted or "Let's Go!" book and picked out a square to head to. We got off the U-Bahn at Bradenberger Tor, where the Brandenburg Gate and Reichstag were located. Exiting the station, we were met by chilly, dismal, rainy grey weather which would last our entire time in Berlin (even as we write this on the train, we have yet to see the sun in 4 days). We approached the Gate, surrounded by the buzz from a rollerblading marathon that was going on around Berlin - how random. We wandered around bit and grabbed a bite to eat from the vendors outside the marathon. We gazed at the Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate, unsure of exactly what it was we were looking at. We looked at a city map and consulted our book again, but were left overwhelmed in this expansive, unfamiliar city. Immediately, Berlin made it obvious that it was nothing like Bavaria. Gone were the warm sunny days in open markets, the jovial crowds gathering over lunch and milling about casually, and the festival atmosphere. Berlin felt alien, less than comfortable.
We called James and made our way to his flat. After making acquaintances and loading pictures to our computer, we took showers (which were desperately needed) and changed into fresh clothes. As it happened, there was a Couchsurfing gathering that evening in which an Austrian couple were putting on a dinner for a small fee that would be going off at 8pm. James is rather active in the CS scene in Berlin and was going there early to help set up. We asked if we could tag along, and he said that we would probably be permitted to join, though we didn't sign up on the CS event page.
Upon arrival, we met Sophia and Stefan, the couple who were putting on the event and a few others - two girls from China, a couple from Milan, and a French kid. They were in the midst of cooking for the meal and we immediately offered our help. We chopped garlic and parsley, whipped egg whites, and prepared a batter for the various dishes that were being prepared - traditional Goulash (also vegetarian style with mushrooms), a baked pasta of sorts with ham, pasta, egg (also a vegetarian option with pasta and caramelized onions and braised cabbage) and a baked desert with philo dough and meringue. In the hours leading up to the start of the function we chatted and got to know everyone over wine and beer. Sophia eventually asked if we could help serve the courses to the guests, which we happily agreed to. As most of the guests arrived, we helped to serve each course and in between serving, we enjoyed heaping mounds of each. It was all new, hearty, homemade food. We met a lot of great people that night. Sophia and Stefan were terrific. They were so grateful for our help; they kept pouring us glass after glass of a new, unique Austrian wine. As we came to find out, they are in the process of opening up their own Austrian wine shop in Berlin. Stefan passionately and animatedly described each wine, the region it came from, the winemaker, and the conditions in which it was made and stored. The whole thing was a real treat and we were so thankful to be there. A few days later, Sophia sent us a lengthy email describing Vienna, all the places we must visit, and an array of helpful information. They were so incredibly nice.
As things were winding down at the dinner, a small group of us decided to head to an iconic nightclub, Techeles. It turned out to be a rather unique place with five stories, each level very different than the last. The entire building, inside and out was covered in graffiti. And by covered, literally every square inch was painted. One level had loud typical dance music thumping, and another had a cool rockabilly vibe about it, another with eighties remixes spinning with lasers strobing about the room, and most levels also had artists exhibiting their paintings, jewelry, photos, and other mixed media work.
The next day we visited the East Side Gallery, which is the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin wall that still stands at 1.3 km long. The entire length of the wall is dedicated to murals from artists from various countries. We walked along slowly, digesting each artist’s mural. Afterwards, we grabbed lunch and went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum. This museum was wonderfully informative and detailed events and forces that lead to the building of the wall, the various ways that many attempted to cross, successfully or tragically not, the lives that were wrenched apart, and the struggle towards the fall. Prior to our visit, neither of us truly understood what events took place here and what they meant. We are both thankful that we got to experience this, and have a greater understanding of "The Walls" place in history -however we are both sort of...stunned at how little we knew about it considering its relatively recent significance. It does put Berlin into a better perspective for us though. This is a reincarnated, new young city and it shows. The architecture of post WWII living spaces and modern commercial spaces melding with the historical buildings that remain from multiple empires of the past occupied by a diverse, energetic people create a dizzying vibe that is unlike any city I've been in before. We heard a quote that seems to sum up the changing face of this city - "Paris will always be Paris, but Berlin will never be Berlin."
On our last day to visit Berlin, we went to an exhibit called Topographies of Terror, which was set in an open air segment of a basement that the Gestapo had worked out of during WWII, set a few feet back from where another portion of the Berlin Wall still stands. The exhibit mainly focused on detailing the rise of Nazi Germany, its propaganda, and the ways in which it diligently and horrifically eradicated, displaced, and killed masses of people in effort of world domination. Directly from here we took a train to catch a free walking tour of Berlin. The tour began at Brandenburg Gate, and wound through the city stopping at various points of interest including Hitler’s last bunker where he ultimately killed himself, Checkpoint Charlie, Bebelplatz (where Nazi students burned 20,000 books), a Jewish Holocaust Memorial, multiple museums and cathedrals, an opera house, and Humboldt University. Quite a great tour put on by a captivating guide from London. Later that night we grabbed some food at the Weinstephan Restaurant. I had roast pork with crackling and dumplings covered in a rich beer based sauce with stewed cabbage and bacon on the side. Marisa's bread with cheese was less than great with an obnoxiously rank cheese that was enough to put off two lovers of rather strong cheeses.
Now, on to Amsterdam where we have a Couchsurfing host waiting to put us up for at least 3 nights!
