Berlin, Hauptstadt Deutschlands

Right now I'm sitting in my hostel in Dresden, but before I get to that: BERLIN!

So the best thing about Berlin was that I got to meet up with about a thousand friends of mine. We Constancers stayed in A+O Hostel with Sara Thatcher and Erik Davis (my roomie from way back in the USA). The hostel was, mmm, the worst so far, but still decent. It was €13/bed and right next to one of the train stations, but it was filled with screaming high schoolers, who woke up at sunrise every morning and made animal noises. The shower doors were transparent and were across from sinks with mirrors, so it was like you were part of a (naked) art exhibit every morning. Plus breakfast was overpriced (€6), so we didn't get it. Location=very good, rooms=okay, living conditions=poor. I'd give it **.

But anyway, on to way too many photos:


Another one of my friends we met in Berlin was Katie Henly. She was a tour guide last summer in Berlin, so she offered to take all of us around the city. She was insanely enthusiastic. I give her tour *****, 5 stars!
Also, tho, if you don't have a friend who professionally gives tours of Berlin, you can check out Katie's previous employer, Sandeman's. Tours are free, and you see lots of the city!


on the tour, Gendarmenplatz, with a statue of Schiller in the foreground


Oh! And you might remember from my Russian blog that the mullet has hit the Russian scene. Well fear no more! Germany has also joined the fashion revolution. Teenage boys all over the country are screaming "Business in the front, party in the back!"


The next day (we spent three nights in Berlin) we went to the Jewish Museum. It was bizarre. I wasn't a big fan. It was €2,50 to get in, plus we paid an extra €1 to see the special exhibit. Some of it was artsy and fun, but a lot of it was just eclectic. One room seriously had a bunch of mounted fish. No one knows why. I give it **, just to be nice.

But don't worry; we went to several other Jewish/Holocaust things in Berlin. There's a very cool Monument to the Murdered Jews of Europe, which is free, and just out along the street (****).

And just below this monument is a museum to the Jewish Holocaust victims. This is also cool and free. It supposedly follows the stories of 6 Jewish people or Jewish families or something thru the Nazi period, but I haven't the foggiest idea how. Nonetheless, it was quality (esp. for the price), so ***.

We also went to the Topography of Terror, an exhibit near the Berlin Wall. It was free and outside. It probably would not have been very cool (it's just a bunch of posters with about an entire novel written on each one), but it was raining, which made it all the worse. I give it **, just because it was near the Wall, which is interesting to see in person.


This is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was just down the street from our hostel. It is really cool looking. It was bombed out during WWII, and they decided to leave it like that as a monument. I don't think you can get inside it, but it is definitely worth the walk to see it (even if you live on the other side of Berlin, not just on the other side of the street!).


Then the next day, we went to watch Katie run in a marathon. We watched and watched, but didn't see her (tho we actually must have, since we saw everyone run past). So then Sara and I climbed the Victory Tower (Siegessäule) to get a high-up view of the city. It cost €1,50, and there was a museum on the bottom floor. The view was mediocre. I've had enough skyscraper views of big cities for a lifetime, I'm pretty sure. Plus the museum was crap. *.

Then I went to Museum Island and went to the museums (by myself! No one else wanted to go!). A day pass to all of the museums on the island cost €14 I think. It's pretty expensive, but you can see a lot. First I went to the Pergamon.


I saw the Ishtar Gate!
The Pergamon was very cool. I give it ****.


Then I went to the Egyptian Museum. Here I saw the bust of Nefertiti. Beyond that it wasn't that great (and actually, the bust wasn't that great either). Better deal: Go to the University of Chicago. The Egyptian Museum gets **.

And finally I went to the Museum of Antiquities. This museum was better than the Egyptian in my opinion, but it didn't really have anything substantial in it. Plus I kind of had my fill of museums for the day. I give it ***.


Okay, so maybe when you think Berlin, you think of the Wall, the Jewish memorial, the Brandenburg Gate. Well that's idiotic. What you should really think of are these two things: The Berliner Ampelmann (the odd looking East German man on the stop lights) and Knut the polar bear (more info on Knut below).


This is what Berlin actually looks like. It's kind of gross, dirty, full of prostitutes (seriously), and gross (I'm repeating myself here for emphasis).


Finally to end the day, we went to the East Side Gallery, which is an intact section of the Wall that was covered by some pretty sweet graffiti.


East Side Gallery

That evening we went to the Weinerei (wine bar). It was only €2,00 for the glass, and then you could fill it up as many times and with as many different kinds of wine (or juice) as you wanted. An obvious *****.


Erik and Sara looking classy


group of us

Okay, so the last day in Berlin I got my hair cut and went to the zoo. Entrance to the aquarium and the zoo proper was €7. It was overall a very nice zoo, but I just went to the zoo in Leipzig today, and that is one of the best in the world, so I feel a little jaded while writing this. But that's a story for tomorrow. I'm giving the Berlin Zoo ***.


AND I SAW KNUT! Knut is famous all over Germany. He's the star attraction of the Berlin zoo. I'm not really sure why. When he came here, he was just a baby and was apparently very cute, but now he's a grown-up and kind of ferocious. But anyway, they even have a movie about him out in theaters (check out the wicked rad trailer!).

So thanks for sticking with me for this massive post, but Berlin is kind of a massive city.
Tomorrow I'll post about Leipzig and Dresden - and my blog will finally catch up with me in real life again!