Berlin

I arrived at my hostel in Berlin on Friday without a problem. It was really nice! I didn’t plan on doing much that evening so I settled in and wandered around the neighborhood a bit. I met some Canadian girls on the patio and that ended up leading to an amazing night out. We reconvened in the bar downstairs, met a bunch of other people, and decided to try to get into a club that my brother had recommended (Week End). We went two metro stops away to a high-rise building with scary bouncers outside. They looked us up and down but finally let us in. We went up to the 15^th floor where they were blasting house music. I usually only like dancing to Top 40s, but this was an incredible club experience. I just went with the music and felt like a true German, although they were dressed a lot cooler than us. A few floors up there was a huge rooftop terrace with lots of seating and blankets. I never did get a blanket, but everyone else looked nice and cozy. The sun rose ridiculously early there so it was already getting light out when we went to the roof before 4 am. It was such a wonderful night out and a great start to my stay in Berlin.

The next morning, we all slept in pretty late and had breakfast together. Then I went on a walking tour of the city for 4 hours. It was a great way to get a feel of the city and see most of the important sites. The sun was beating down on us so it was pretty exhausting but still interesting. After the tour, I went with some girls to see another site and then we had a long adventure getting back to the hostel. I met up with a friend from the night before and we had dinner at this Mexican/Indian restaurant across the street. My chicken tikka was yummy. Saturday night was Karaoke night in the bar downstairs, so we spent the night belting out popular songs.

I went off on my own on Sunday to see some new parts of the city. I hit a lot of street markets along the way. When I got to Potsdamer Platz, I was tired and boiling in the sun so I took a break to see Hangover 2. It was a great decision and very funny. I continued on to Topography of Terror, an open-air museum about persecution. It was a lot of reading but very cool. I eventually made it back to the hostel, got a Doner Kebab, and hung out with some new friends for the rest of the evening. I had a lovely chat over ice cream in a park with two great Australians until it was time for bed.

On Monday, I went on an “alternative” walking tour that showed the street art culture of Berlin. It was a great tour to go on because it pointed out places and things that I would never know to look for on my own. We saw cool alleyways with incredible street art and an artist community filled with metal sculptures. We ended at a beach bar near the East Side Gallery, a long stretch of the Berlin Wall covered in amazing murals. That was a very cool walk. Then I went to the Jewish Museum, which was huge but had some incredible and moving sections. I could have stayed there forever given enough Red Bull, but I was really tired and hungry. I made my way back to the hostel, had dinner, and took care of some travel plans. That evening, I spent the night chatting with lots of people in the bar downstairs. I hadn’t expected such a social night but it ended up being a blast. I didn’t stay out super late because it died down and I had my train to Prague this morning.

Berlin was one of the coolest cities I have ever seen. I can totally understand why people stay there for a long time. It has such a unique culture, unbelievable nightlife, and is really cheap. Yay! Now I’m off to Prague, which I’m sure will be equally as amazing.