We got into Berlin in the evening and met Dom and Christian, our airbnb host. I knew we were in Berlin for a few days, so i knew it was time to chill. Plus we were in an interesting apartment idea. Inside a city apartment, there are cabins made of wood inside that you sleep in and there is a common area for cooking, etc. My first day in Berlin, was laying in a hammock and doing some writing, typing, reading, relaxing. These kinds of days are a must have in the trip saddle, you have to perform maintenance on your body and mind and gather your thoughts. I feel like you need more of them.
If I had to describe Berlin in one pic
http://coje-berlin.com/en/
I have really wanted to check out a concert when in Berlin and unfortunately nothing played during the time we were there. Apparently Berlin has a good classical music scene, but I couldnt find anything during my time there http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/
- For dinner Jen and I went to Treffpunkt, where I had my first real Wiener Schnitzel, (an Ellie and Emily suggestion) on Mittelstraße 55, highly recommend it. Afterwards we climbed the Reigstad at night (you need reservations online) and listened about the history of the buildings, their meaning and how the congress works. Interestingly, the people elect a congressman, then congress elects the prime minister. Seems like a good way to involve people in their local politics first. On an unrelated, but related note, I was watching a John Oliver piece where he was talking about how much toxic legislation the local governments in America are pushing through, compared to national congress, which has done nothing. Yet, in America, most people, myself included are completely clueless about their local politics. So, the German system seems to work to prevent that
Brandenburg Gate
Wiener schnitzel @ Trefpunkt
Dom was not feeling well at this point and went to see a doctor :(
Next day, I went on a Walking tour - the walking tour was ok, it was cold and there is nothing interesting that moved me walking around Berlin. An interesting place was one where the Nazis burned the books in front of a university, there is a memorial dedicated to that moment and an ancient quote.... This gave me chills
Among the thousands of books burned on Berlin's Opernplatz in 1933, following the Nazi raid on theInstitut für Sexualwissenschaft, were works by Heinrich Heine. To commemorate the terrible event, one of the most famous lines of Heine's 1821 play Almansor was engraved in the ground at the site: "Das war ein Vorspiel nur, dort wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man auch am Ende Menschen." ("That was but a prelude; where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people as well.")
The furthest that the USSR and communist influence reached West
Memorial to the burning of books and quote below
After the walking tour, I met back up with the girls and we went to a concert, Hozier, a concert Jen had circled and got tickets to from Atlanta. He is the "Take me to church" dude, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYSVMgRr6pw . The concert was down an alley thats tough to find, next to a fun looking Christmas market... I was actually quite impressed w/ the dude and we had a really fun night cabbing back with a few Irish groupies of his! After the show, we hit a Shawarma spot, called Alibaba.
Ali Baba
In Berlin, I really wanted to explore some museums.... So, the next day, was all about museums for me....
- Holocaust museum - (recommend) really good museum, very well done and very personal, there is a section where you can read specific cards / accounts and witness the holocaust through specific families
- Topography of terror - (so-so) was a museum on the site of the old gestapo, it chronicles the rise of the SS and the 3rd reich, the museum was ok, but not incredible
- Ddr museum, eastern Germany (highly recommend) - open til 8p - this came highly recommended and it was a great museum! It hit a little close to home as a lot of the stuff reminded me of growing up in Moscow. They dissected every part of the Russian influenced lifestyle - home, economy, media, cars, education, all the things that seem so ridiculous to me now that I've lived in the US
- Otto weidt museum - 8pm (so-so), really small, almost not worth it, but its good to see the good in people during such rough times. I would say dont go out of your way for this one, but the alley its in is kind of cool, so if you want to line up some bars after
Holocaust museum above the museum
DDR Museum - living room of a typical DDR home
Looking for the museum of Otto Weidt, I stumbled onto this crazy alley way
After the museums I met the girls to hit the Christmas markets, we were going to head to the one next to where we saw Hozier the night before. Jen was really looking forward to the Christmas markets and 'weve seen glimpses of them in Austria and other spots, but not while they were open. From the looks of it, it looked pretty lame, selling a bunch of useless shit out of kiosks. But once we dug in, it all kind of clicked, drinking the warm gluhwein out of the little das boots was right on the money. It was freezing outside, but huddled up, boozing, we had a great time. Just the general buzz of the place and how much people were enjoying it is really contagious. Not sure why we dont have these in America?
You can sit on a warm battery, stick your hands in a hanging warm jacket and just hang out (literally)
My take - Berlin is interesting, not because of the sites, but how its recent history helped to shape the town and the people. WW2 and the split between the US/Russia created a very interesting dynamic of the people, music, etc. I thought there was not one site that was worth seeing in Berlin, yet it was one of the coolest spots we've been. Its charm is kind of hidden, as you have to know where the alleys are and the spots are hidden. This is the one place that would be worth knowing, finding or meeting a local to show you the spots, its just such a big place. Overall, a must visit!
Recommendations
- Spatzle and knodle - havent been, recommended
- Hops and barley - havent been, recommended
- Treffpunkt - recommend
- Thursday, street food market 5-10, kreuzvurg - went, it was ok, what you would expect from a foreign market
- Eggnog liquors @ Christmas markets - crazy powerful, be careful
- Reichstag stag, dome, reserve it online - try to get here during the day, kind of hard to see at night
- Music - did not get a chance, but would definitley go - http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en/concerts/calendar/details/20463/
- Definitley stay @ http://coje-berlin.com/en/
The amazing people that I was fortunate to meet and spend some time with at our place of residence. Dude was from the UK (forgot his name) and Sophie from Strasbourg, France. As always, the people are the best part of any adventure!
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