New Berlin

I hadn't expected to be in Berlin for another week. Somehow I managed to find another hostel at late notice that didn't cost the earth and it turned out to be even better placed. My American travel buddy was already in Berlin, so we caught up, saw the lit up and closed buildings (national holiday, unification day) and grabbed some dinner.

Getting up early the next morning I had planned on doing the free walking tour that had been recommended by friends that had previously visited Berlin. I needn't have bothered, the tour started at 10:30 from my hostel, so I wandered around and found breakfast. The tour was worth it. Starting with the Brandenburg gate and the Reichstag, through the Jewish holocaust memorial, past where Hitler's bunker once was and where the Luftwaffe headquarters building still stands, part of the Berlin wall and the commercial area of Checkpoint Charlie, Gendarmenmarkt square, up past the book burning memorial to Museum island. It covered alot of the key tourist points with an engaging and knowledgeable guide. To top off the tour I then went through the Pergamon museum and saw some amazing exhibits that covered Babylonian, Saracen and Islamic art, history and architecture, along with samples of Greek, Roman and Egyptian history. After most of the day sightseeing I found possibly the only bar in Berlin that was showing the All Blacks vs Springboks test. Settling in for a tense game with a group of Kiwis and a token Springbok we were joined by my travel buddy, to witness New Zealand's first loss in two years. Dinner preceded a pub crawl that ended at a nightclub and me getting to bed after 4am.

Needless to say I was left a little tired. So I extended my stay in Berlin another day to recover. Buddying up again we went to the Eastside gallery (a heavily graffitied section of the Berlin wall), ambled through a market then wandered randomly through the neighbourhood of Kreuzberg. I then gave her a highlights tour of the Brandenburg gate before we parted ways. I headed back to my hostel with the intention of booking my way somewhere or writing this. Instead I fell asleep in the common area, so put myself to bed by 7pm. An early end to an unexpected trip to Berlin.

So now I am off to Hamburg. I had thought about maybe Denmark replacing Poland, but the cost of the trip there and back at short notice and for only a couple of days made it not really feasible or sensible. Berlin was a pleasant surprise. Although lacking the old buildings of most of its neighbours (flattened during the war), it has a comfortable feel to it is welcoming of everyone and a history that must be uncomfortable for them but that they put on show. Maybe this is to show the world that it is not the place it was under Nazi control or maybe it is a method of repentance. Either way I felt more comfortable here than I thought I might, especially after the low I felt in Prague.

French cathedral

Jewish Holocaust memorial

Berlin cathedral

Eastside gallery, Berlin Wall

Brandenburg Gate