"Berlin! Berlin! We're going to Berlin!" FYI, that is apparently a chant used during the World Cup in 2006, and is also chanted by supporters of the BFB-Pokal-finalists before the finals in Berlin. (Thanks wikipedia!)
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"The Pub" - yep, that is a self-serve
tap at the table!! |
We did our first international trip last weekend! It was
all the way to Berlin, Germany. I must say, it is very odd to us that we can travel to a foreign country in just a few hours by train. I think we are going to like this living in Europe thing!
It started with a 4.25 hr train ride, on a lovely Valentine's Day evening, a very "romantic dinner" on the train, and a whole lot of young men (students??) who had started their drinking early - although were surprisingly quiet and well mannered, all things considered. This is definitely one thing that struck us on both train journeys is how very very quiet it was. Our card shuffling was sometimes the noisiest thing on the train.
Upon arrival (9:30 - 10pm) we just had to go and try some great German beers. Another point of difference we noticed was that it was relatively difficult to just find a pub/bar to drink a beer. Everything we found seemed to be eating establishments, and people were eating late!! We thought they only did that in Spain, not in Germany. Oh well, lesson learned. (Don't worry, we did find a place to have our beer.)
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| Scott in front of the Reichstag |
Saturday was filled with exploring the essential sights of the city. Starting with a tour of the glass dome at Reichstag (Gov't house), Brandenburger Tor, the Holocaust memorial, Potsdamer Platz, the Topographie des Terrors museum (site of the old SS headquarters - now a free museum), Checkpoint Charlie, the Mauermuseum (Wall museum - with much documentation on the escape attempts), and finally the DDR museum (a touchy-feely look at life in East Germany with the wall).
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| Can you find us? |
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| Brandenburger Tor |
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| The stone blocks in the Holocaust Memorial |
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| A section of the wall, outside the Topographie des Terrors |
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| Outside the DDR museum |
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| Checkpoint Charlie and the Mauermuseum |
Needless to say, it was a full day with lots of learning. Also a bit sad and confronting. It really made us realise what life might have been like and the fact that it was in our lifetime, and we were born and growing up around the same time. Many things about that time are still confusing to me, but I have a much better appreciation for it now.
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| Really enjoyed the German beers! |
So what do we do to cap off our day???? Surely it was to find a good microbrewery! Hops & Barley was a bit out of the way, but was totally worth the effort - great vibe, great beer. We also had a late dinner, so were very happy that the Germans do eat so late.
Sunday was a much different focus. We started the day with a visit to the Olympic stadium, then to the East Side Gallery - a 1.3km section of the Wall, converted into an Art Gallery, the Berlin Cathedral, and Hackesche Hofe - a series of very lovely, interlinked courtyards.
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| Olympic Stadium - figures there was a game on that day, so we couldn't go in. |
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| One of the many beautiful murals at the East Side Gallery |
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| Berlin Cathedral |
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| Berlin Cathedral |
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| View over Berlin from the top of the Cathedral |
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| Just one of the many cute courtyards. |
All in all, Berlin was great. Oh, and don't worry, we did try some classic Berlin/German foods, including apple strudel and the currywurst. One we really enjoyed, the other - well, not so much.
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