December 28, 2013 to January 3, 2014
28th- Today we began our New Years Eve adventure
by getting up early to drive to Berlin and meet up with Ashley and Vicky at our
hostel. We parked our car and then walked to Brandenburg Gate. We decided to
eat lunch at a bakery near the gate then used the toilet across the street. This
is where our adventure truly began, as you had to pay to use the toilet and
there was a machine that you paid into. Well we had the advantage of letting
Ashley go first through the German machine which was really confusing, I do have
to admit. However, Ashley could not figure out how to use the machine and got
stuck not being able to go through the turnstile. So I suggested that she go
under as she had already paid, it just wouldn’t let her through. Well as she
went under a woman in a uniform came out of the bathroom just in time to see
Ashley going under. Ashley, thinking she worked there held up her ticket and
said ‘I paid! Look!’ Which was absolutely hilarious as the woman just looked at
Ashley and we all burst into laughter as the woman clearly didn’t work there
she was just using the toilet. So after our little experience, we headed out to
join the walking tour group. As we were waiting for the tour to start Ashley
was looking at her ticket which said to present the ticket to cash. So we
nicknamed our mystery woman cash. This information is useful later on…keep an
eye out. So we waited for our tour to start and were lucky enough to get the
only German tour guide- Francesca. So we began our tour by standing in Pariser
Platz which is like the one in Paris and once housed all the government
buildings which were bombed in the war and now has Embassy’s near it (including
the American Embassy) and finally the gate. Looking at the Gate we saw all the
preparations going on for the New Years Eve celebration. The Brandenburg Gate
or Bradenburger Tor is the last surviving gate of the 14 gates in Berlin’s old
city wall. The horse chariot statue at the top was once taken by Napolean to
the Louvre but returned at a later date with a new name of Goddess of Victory.
After the gate we went behind it to take a look at where the wall once stood,
now only small bricks on the road. And then onto the Memorial to the murdered
Jews of Europe. It has 2,711 gravestone-like pillars and is a controversial
topic in Germany because it focuses only on the Jews, however there are
promises to make other memorials for the other victims. This memorial is a maze
of pillars with an up and down, wavy brick path in-between. The pillars vary in
height and size and the meaning is entirely up to the individual. It was a very
powerful place and is only describable to those who have been. After taking
time to walk through we then began our walk to Hilter’s Bunker. His bunker is
now under a parking lot beside some apartment buildings. All of the Nazi
bunkers in Germany have been closed off as a way of preventing shrines or
places for Nazi meetings to take place. Then we moved onto the German Finance
Ministry where the Tom Cruise movie Valkyrie was filmed. This used to be the
head-quarters of the Nazi’s Air Force and was the only government building to
survive the bombs. Now it is the German Tax office. Next we walked to take a
look at a surviving piece of the wall. Then we took a small break before having
a quick look at Checkpoint Charlie which was the US checkpoint most famous for
the most foreigners to cross here. We then continued onto the city centre which
used to be the most popular part of town with its clubs, restaurants and of
course hookers. Although now it is just like any other street in Berlin.
However, this was eventful for us because this is where we saw the toilet woman
(nicknamed Cash) who works as a bike driver with a carriage. This was very
funny as we insisted that Ashley present her ticket now lol. Next we walked
past the French and German church with the concert hall in-between. The German
government build the French church so that services could be held in French and
bring culture to Berlin. The Germans complained that they wanted a church so an
almost identical one was built, attempting to make them the same height,
although due to construction problems the German church is now slightly taller.
In between is the concert hall (which was housing a Christmas market) and also
has a disco ball hanging out in front of it! We then walked to Bebelplatz which
has Humboldt University where Einstein used to teach. It also has the German
Sate Opera which was bombed and rebuilt, as well as St. Hedwig’s Church for the
Catholics. And finally the most attracted spot- the memorial to the Nazi book
burning which took place in the square in 1933. There is a glass window with
empty bookshelves underneath to symbolize the 20,000 books that were burned
here for being controversial during the War. There is a plaque that has
Heinrich Heine’s 1820 quote: ‘Where they burn books, at the end they also burn
people.’ A predicted event and also a place where his works were later burned.
This was our final stop on our tour so we said goodbye and went back to our
hostel to check in and change. Then we took the train to Alexanderplatz. This
was the pride and joy of East Berlin with its department stores and train
stations. It also has the World Time Clock which has the time for each part of
the world as it rotates. It is very cool. It also has lots of shops which is
why we stopped there so Ashley could find some shoes to wear. Then we took the
train to Potsdamerplatz which is called the Times Square of Berlin and one of
the busiest squares. It used to be cut in half by the wall and was left
deserted for 40 years. Now it houses many trendy restaurants and businesses,
maybe one of the most famous is the Sony Center, which is exactly where we
decided to go. We ate at Jousty bar which is a restaurant near the fountain
under the multi-colored floodlights. We drank Berlin’s famous green and red
beer and I ate amazing meatballs! Then we randomly saw an ice show near the
fountain with a princess lady lol. Then we went to the Christmas Market and saw
an amazing Christmas tree covered in multi-colored Christmas ornaments. After
having fun taking pictures there we went back to our hostel and drank a drink
in the hostel bar, which was quite expensive so we only had one and then went
to bed. Well actually we talked in our room before bed and got yelled at twice
by the ‘security’ lol.
29th- Today we got up early and got ready then
walked to the Brandenburg Gate. On the way we walked through the Art Market so
that Heavens and Vicky could get some art, but they weren’t quite ready yet so
we went and took pictures of some of the museums and the Dome- Berlin Cathedral
while we waited. Then we got the art work and headed to the Gate. On the way we
found Berlin Story book store to buy some books then went to Starbucks and ate
breakfast with a wonderful view of the Gate. Next we got some doughnuts at
Dunkin’ Doughnuts and then back to the toilets with another great
experience…Ashley and Vicky saw Luigi!!!! He gave them a hug!! Lol. Then we
walked to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. We wanted to take some
pictures. Then we took the train to the East Side Gallery. This is the biggest
remaining part of the Wall and the world’s largest outdoor art gallery. It is a
mile long and covered with paintings. Every so often the walls are painted
white so that the artists can create something new. Most of the works of art we
saw were from 2009. This was my favorite part of Berlin. I loved walking the
length of the wall and looking at all the artwork…I would say I loved it the
most but Vicky took a picture of every single piece of artwork so I’d have to
say she loved it most. Once finished we looked in the souvenir shop and took
some cool pictures then walked under the bridge to the train station. On the
way we saw the giant three men statue in the river which we later found out poked
fun at the Cold War by the men doing rock, paper, scissors. Then we saw a
half-naked woman in the park getting her picture taken lol. Next we took the
train to Checkpoint Charlie which was the area where the foreingers would pass
from the East to the West. This was an American checkpoint named after its
position and there are two actors playing guards that take pictures for money.
We however, just took pictures from far away lol. The annoying thing though is
that it is in the middle of the street which is difficult, especially with
crazy German drivers. Then we got some food at Snackpoint Charlie lol where a
creepy guy flirted with me and dissed Ashley. Next we went to the Topography of
Terrors which is behind part of the wall. This marks the command center of
Hitler’s Gestapo and SS and because of the horrible things that happened there
this will always be left as rubble. The only thing built here was the museum
that documents the story of Hitler and his reign. It was very, very long and
the hanging signs that swayed with lots of not so nice information eventually
made it so Ashley and I needed to sit down. It was very intense with lots of
information that was not very nice but it was definitely something everyone
should do when visiting Berlin. After we were done reading all the information
we went back to our hostel to relax before dinner. Then we took the train back
to Postdamerplatz and looked at the Christmas market then headed back to the
Sony Center to have dinner at the Bavarin Lindenbrau beer hall. There we had
our colored beer again and then dinner before trying to find a ATM, although
winding up using the one across the street from our hostel next to the
prostitutes lol. Then to our hostel for bed.
30th- Today we got up early for breakfast, we walked
to the Gate and ate at dunkin doughnuts then walked to the Reichstag Building. The
Reichstag Building almost burnt down during the war and was eventually take by
Stalin and nowadays symbolizes the end of the War. It has a glass cupola with a
360 degree view and 360 mirrors and is lit from the inside at night. Directly
next to the building is the Memorial to the Politicians who Opposed Hitler and
is a row of slate slabs in the ground with the names of the 96 murdered by
Hitler because they stood up against him. After taking pictures we walked to
Victory Column, along the Strasse des 17 Juni which is where the New Years Eve
celebration was held. Therefore there were lots of tents and people setting up
getting ready for the celebration. We walked down the long street to Victory
Column which is in the Tiergarten and was built to commemorate the Prussian
defeat of Denmark and then again symbolized the defeat of France. It is
decorated with French cannons. It used to stand at the Reichstag but was moved
and lengthened by Hitler. There are chipped pieces of marble from bullets and
is famous for President Obama’s 2008 presidential election campaign. We climbed
the 258 steps to get to the top of the tower and saw the statue goddess
Victoria as well as the amazing view. Then we went down, took some pictures and
walked back through the set-up area. We then met up for the Alternative Tour.
But first another epic trip to the bathroom where this time we saw Mario, who
was not as nice as Luigi and just walked on by us! And then a little hold up
where we couldn’t get into the toilets because they were cleaning them. Next
our tour began and our first stop was to a street art corridor with Little Lucy
art-work which plays off a little girl and her cat. However, this artwork
depicts Little Lucy killing her cat. Then we went by the East Side Gallery and
attempted to go to an old abandoned Ice Factory but for the first time the cops
were there and technically it is illegal to go inside so we decided to bypass
that. We then looked at a Squat which will be closed in 2038. The have their
own electricity and everything. Then we saw a ‘tree house’ which was built in
between the East and West and the man that lives there grows his own vegetables
in his garden. He was almost evicted except that the church that is next to him
decided that technically it was their land and they wanted him to stay. He
later let his brother move in and share his garden although they got into a
huge fight and now do not speak, although still share the garden, now with a
fence down the middle. Then we went to an old hospital that the government
wanted to tear down, but the people got together and each put in money to own a
share of this building and now it is a music and art building owned by the
people. Next we travelled to Kreuzburg which is the largest Turkish city apart
from Turkey. We stopped at a burger joint then continued the tour by looking at
the world’s largest outdoor stencil which was done by sponge painting. And it
is of a space man. The car sales place across the street used to point its
light at a pole so that it looked like the space man was holding a flag but had
to replace the light and it is just off now. Then we travelled to a freaky
little town with more street art and lots of clubs. This was the end of the
tour so we headed back to our hostel to get ready for dinner. We decided to
stay on Oranienburger Strasse with the prostitutes- prostitution is
decriminalized although debateable about taxation and not paying taxes- and ate
at a pub down the street call Aufsturz where we ate some nachos, traditional
German food- sausages and sauerkraut with potatoes, and drank some more
Berliner Weisse- colored beer. Then we got ourselves ready to go on the pub
crawl which began across the street. We met up with the tour guides and had to
wait in line. While waiting we chatted with other people on the tour about the
prostitutes and about the random truck that drove by where the back was
converted into a bed! Lol. Then we began our crawl at the bar directly next to
the prostitute’s headquarters- Bar Silberfisch, which had silver fish imbedded
into the ceiling. Here we got a free shot and a beer, which also came with a
free shot. Then we quickly left and went to Die Party Bar which translates to
The Party Bar where we got a free shot and again a free shot with our drinks.
Here we got a triple shot drink for only a 5er. We met a NZ guy with giant
hands who we invited to continue the tour with us as he wasn’t on it and we
never saw him again lol. We also watched stripey jumper guy hit on girls and
found it funny. Next we walked to the Central Club Berlin where we again got a
free shot and a drink with a free shot. Here we met a man from Brazil who had
our Amsterdam pub crawl t-shirt on which was cool. Heavens also got to know
Andrew- aka stripey jumper guy and he decided to kiss me and Heavens lol
because of all her advice. We got a couple Rabbits pictures and Heavens got a
picture with Hollywood our tour guide. We decided to leave a little early
before heading to the club as we knew it was quite far from our hostel so we
went to McDonalds at the train station then back to our hostel for bed.
31st- Today we slept in a bit then walked down
the street to a breakfast buffet which was amazing! It had tons of different
food and lots of dried fruit and fresh fruit and the best freshly squeezed
orange juice! Then we decided to walk to see if we could find the sex museum,
however it appeared to be a lot closer than it actually was. Therefore we
decided just to look in some shops and attempted to find a Primark which took
forever and we found out that it wasn’t opening until later this year! So we
decided to go back to the hostel and change. We decided we wanted to go back to
the amazing burger place for dinner; however it ended up being closed. So we
went to a Mexican place around the corner as it took us forever to get there.
We had more Berliner Weisse and I had fajitas which were amazing. After dinner
we headed to Bradenburg Gate to join the masses of people in the New Years Eve
Celebration!!! We got there about 7:30ish and had to walk quite far just to get
in. We went through security then walked underneath the confetti and into the
crowd. It wasn’t too crowded just yet so we made our way as close as we could
get and still see a screen. We could see the stage if you stood on your
tippy-toes. We decided to stay there though because at the time it wasn’t too crowded
and we had a big screen right in front of us. So Ashley and I decided to go get
drinks and by the time we got back it was packed where we were standing. We
listened to the music from the DJ’s and the occasional live performances and
danced and had a good time…except for the creepy man behind Ashley and
Vicky..who eventually left because we kept saying he was creepy for taking
pictures with us. We met an Australian family in front of us who were talking
with us and Vicky and Heavens wore their masks they bought. We were having a
good time just hanging out, trying to stay warm and then finally it was
midnight. We counted down in German which was awesome and then there were lots
of fireworks in the park with a lightshow on the stage by the Gate. It was very
cool, with lots of music and singers! We stayed for about an hour and then
decided to carefully walk home as most people who were there were very drunk
and one guy even got hit by a tram. It was a bit scary with fireworks
everywhere and drunk people everywhere but we finally made it back to our
hostel and we went to bed.
1st- Today we got up early to pack and get ready
to check out of our hotel. We had the hotel breakfast which was okay and then
afterwards we decided to go home. So we got in the car drove home, stopping at
McDonalds along the way. When we got home I was very tired so we relaxed and
watched friends and had pizza for dinner then watched We Are the Millers before
bed.
2nd- Today, feeling refreshed from our relaxing
day yesterday we decided to show Ashley and Vicky around. First we drove to
Rosarium and met up with Annette and Moni. Then we drove around Meerane so the
girls could see some of the sights. Then we went to Zwickau and walked around
the town. We saw the frozen pond, a beer house, and a wooden nativity set. Then
we went for lunch and I had an amazing cous cous chicken dish. Then we went to
Kaufland to get some snacks for later and went home and watched friends, ate
snacks and went to bed.
3rd- Today was Vicky and Ashley’s last day, we
got up really early to drive to Dresden and had to say goodbye to Vicky. Then
we parked the car and walked into the center, taking some pictures along the
way. Then we went to Starbucks for coffee and breakfast before we had to head
back to the bus stop to say goodbye to Ashley. Then Heavens and I drove to
Chemnitz to go to Ikea and some shopping before home to skype Mama and then
relaxing before bed.
Overall our time in Berlin was amazing and we loved a
Rabbits reunion!!
Until next time,
¬D¬
