Germany: Berlin
Germany was our 3rd stop in #FLeuro2016, my backpacking trip across Europe. Our first city in Germany was Berlin, which I can tell you right now is an awesome place to visit if you have a student ID. There are student discounts for all of the museums and popular attractions, as well as transit.
A lot of my time in Berlin was spent learning – yes I went to many museums and historic sites and they were all beautiful and informative and very efficiently run. Some of the museums I visited included the Berlin Musical Instrument Museum, which had some absolutely exquisite old instruments with intricate ornaments and carvings.
We also visited the Berlin Wall Memorial, which is kind of a heavy place to visit but since I had a phase in my life where I was very into Nazi-Germany fiction, it was extremely powerful.
What is left of the Berlin Wall was certainly not what I had imagined. The Berlin Wall Eastside Gallery was filled with graffiti-style art and drawings or writing.
In terms of food, our first day in Berlin went quite well with the introduction of Vapiano, a fast-food style pasta franchise where they cook the pasta in front of you after you choose all your ingredients. Fatima and I were blown away by the convenience, price and taste. We also had some really yummy schnitzel at a place across from the Berlin Wall Memorial (don’t remember the name).
We spent our next day shopping at the Mall of Berlin. I noticed their Adidas stores had some unique designs so I got myself a pair. In general, prices were slightly higher than in Canada and their sizing was way bigger. I was 1-2 sizes smaller than my normal size in Canada. I also tried some currywurst from the mall cafeteria, which basically tasted like a sausage under ketchup and curry powder.
After shopping, Fatima and I met up with two of our friends from home to visit the spy museum. We joked about whether or not you’re a good spy or a bad spy if you are featured in the museum. If you were really a good spy, would anyone know you’re a spy?
The museum was fun and interactive, my favourite part being this lazer room you have to go through without touching the sensors.
The next day, we visited some more historic sites. One of the most important places I wanted to see in Berlin was the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The memorial was in the middle of a busy square and it is essentially a grid of grey concrete blocks that get taller as you walk deeper into the grid. The meaning behind it is to feel the lost and confusion as you get deeper into it. In the middle of the grid, there is a small memorial building where you can go inside and learn more.
Walking through the memorial was a strange feeling. There were many people taking photos, climbing and jumping from one concrete slab to the other. There were also a lot of children running through the maze-like memorial. In a sense, it felt nice and peaceful and of course very much different from all the pain that brought this memorial to life.
From this memorial, it was also easy to walk to other sites, such as the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag and the Berlin Cathedral. I would recommend going into the Reichstag and signing up for a time to visit, as they do not allow walk-ins. Everyone needs to have an appointment but it’s free to schedule a visit and free to go in.
The Berlin Cathedral has a beautiful ceiling and for 5 euros, you can walk up a few flights of stairs to the top of the cathedral, where you get a nice view of the city from a high glance. Would definitely recommend if you have the time, it only takes around 15-20 minutes to walk up.
The next day, Fatima and I had another touristy day. We visisted Berlin’s Botanical Garden – one of the largest 3 in the world! Everything was in German though and neither of us knew anything about plants but it was still nice to walk through the different greenhouses.
After the Botanical Gardens (and a nap), we took an afternoon trip to the Berlin zoo. There was nothing out of the ordinary here, we didn’t see any animals we haven’t seen before (except for all the different kinds of birds).
After the zoo, Fatima and I returned to the Reichstag since we signed up for 5 pm to see the sunset from the top of the dome. The Reichstag building is a huge legislative building with a modern glass dome at the top. Again, visitors are given audiotapes to listen to as they walk through the dome, reaching higher as they spiral to the top, which is an open hole.
The sunset from the Reichstag dome was stunning and the German flag they place makes it all the more German.
Our time in Berlin came close to an end, with us spending our last day at yet another museum – the DDR Museum. The DDR Museum is sadly not on our favourite dance dance revolution game, but on what it was like to live in a separated Berlin. There were many installations and pop art culture that made it fun to walk through.
Berlin was definitely one of the most educational cities I’ve traveled to. Everything was clean and safe and the people spoke wonderful English and were not rude at all. The sidewalks were wide and many people cycled to places. The next time I visit Berlin, I would probably stay at a hostel inside of an airbnb because I hear they are just as nice as a low-end hotel.
Danke schoen, Berlin!
Sincerely, Loewe