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Arrived in Berlin, and headed to my hostel circus in the heart of east Berlin. Arrived completely jet lagged, but excited to start my journey. Had no problems navigating the bus system and arrived and met up with my
Friend Cj from Calgary. Was so nice to see a familiar face. We went for a traditional German meal that included pork knuckle (sounds gross but is really good) and goulash and of course delicious beer. Headed back to the hostel and drank with other travellers.
Decided to head out to a gay bar in Berlin and found a Cosy little watering hole. There were only two people in the place, but they welcomed us and ended up chatting and drinking till about 7am. The bartender and his friend spoke to us about their experience living in east Berlin during the time of the wall. One guy recounted his opportunity to escape into Canada during a stop over on his way to Cuba. So very sad, what he went through, but hearing it from someone personally really made me understand the horror that the people went through. Had an incredible night and met some extremely nice and authentic German people.
Next day Cj and I headed out to Potsdam 45 minutes outside of Berlin to see the Sans Souci castle. This castle was absolutely incredible, each room more lavish then the next, and as the floors were marble we had to wear special over sized slippers. Cj and I goofed around and pretended to be ice skaters. After the castle we wandered around the area and saw more incredible buildings and grounds. That night we went for dinner and I met Cj's friend Ulf who talked to us about growing up in East Berlin. During the time of the wall there was a secret police force called the Stossi who's job was to follow all the citizens of Berlin and to hunt out anti-communist behavior. The Stossi could be anyone, and they destroyed the lives of many. Ulf was saying that after the wall fell the Stossi records were released and people could see who they were and what they had said about them. He came to find out that his teachers were Stossi as well as his friends. I can't even imagine what it would be like finding out someone you knew and trusted was a spy.
Day 3 I got my own personal Berlin walking tour from Cj. We went all over Berlin beginning with an artisan market where we sampled an assortment of delicious hummus, followed by bratwurst. Yum! Next we went to the Pergammon museum that had incredible artifacts from ancient Greece, which included a full altar. Definitely a must see.
Headed out and wandered by humboldt university where Einstein attended, and then ended up at the book burning memorial. Hitler had ordered all Jewish literature to be destroyed. Next we went to the topography of terror, which was the remains of the Berlin wall and walked through all the history beginning with the Nazis up to when the wall fell. This monument was very moving, and really made me understand the horrors that went on during that time. It is crazy how Hitler influenced the people and used the power structures to elect him.
We ended the day at the Holicaust memorial, which was very moving and emotional. The memorrial is a serious of stones that create a stark maze that one can walk through. Ended the day with drinks with new friends from the hostel and heading to a German 90s night that included baby got back as well as super fast german techno.
Day 4:
Cj and I among others took the Alternative tour of Berlin. This consisted of seeing incredible street art and Grafitti. Saw an amazing metal works shop as well as a an artist's squat, who's is a building five stories high that Is coveted in Grafitti and is the home to many artists that use it ad their studio. This was an amazing building, and something I have never seen before. Next we headed to see some of the worlds biggest Grafitti and examples of common Grafitti. My favorite type of grafiiti was this artist that has this character that looks kind of like Betty Boop. She keeps trying to find new ways to kill her cat. A little morbid I know, but interesting. One example is Lucy with her cat on a donair spit. Ended the day at the east side gallery. This is a section of the Berlin wall that is still standing, and Berlin got artists from all over the world to paint a portion of it. Absolutely stunning. Ended the night
Cj left to move onto her next destination, and I decided it would be time to move to a new hostel in west Berlin. Took the train over the west Berlin, and headed to Tom's hostel my new home for the next two days...
To be continued....
- comments
John Keep up the stories! :)