Berlin!

Berlin, much like Munich, is sadly only going to get a Sparknoted (highlights) version of what happened while I was there for a week. I had a blast the whole time, but because I was in one place for so long, with no train rides to write blogs, I didn’t have time or really want to spend time blogging. So while there is so much more to be said while I was in Berlin, only a little bit will be mentioned (sorry to Louisa, Nicolai, Anna, Rhianne, and other fellow Berliners who may be reading this wishing I included certain awesome details from my stay). As it is, here are some of the highlights:

Who I Stayed With

• Louisa and Phillip: 4 nights (I knew Louisa from Slo when I hosted her and her friend Gesa)
• Nicolai and Anna: 2 nights (I met them in Munich through Rhianne at the Oktoberfest)
• Rhianne: 2 nights (She dated my good friend Eric Frasch from Sigma Pi)

Highlights

• ~8 hour train ride from Copenhagen to Berlin (ugh, such a beautiful train ride tho)
• Drinking games with Louisa, Phillip, and their friends (the first night ended poorly for Kyle haha. Too much champagne, red wine, vodka, white wine, and more red wine)
• Explored Berlin with Louisa and Phillip (they’re an awesome couple btw. Love them). We saw the museum island, Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, had coffee in Kreutzburg, and ate a pizza doner kebab (mmm……)
• Spent a day at home doing nothing (well, I skyped with Jenny, watched some NFL highlights, did some email, uploaded pictures, and a few other things)
• Watched “Paranormal Activity” (a scary movie that haunted me the entire night. Seriously, not cool)
• Went on a free 4 hour walking tour of Berlin courtesy of a couchsurfer in Berlin who posted the tour in the “community” section of Berlin. ~20-25 people showed up which was cool. I learned a lot more about the history or Germany and Berlin, visited "Checkpoint Charlie," stood over Hitler’s bunker, and talked with some cool couchsurfers from all over the world.
• Visited the “East Side Gallery (the largest remaining part of the Berlin wall). Berlin has a very sad/depressing history, and I was very much aware of it while walking along the wall.
• Treptower park was awesome and had an impressive soviet memorial that was incredibly moving. A must see in Berlin in my opinion.
• Templehof park was interesting as it used to be the main Berlin airport (and was where all the food was dropped in when the soviets cut off their supply chain), and is now just a huge open park for the public
• Jewish Museum. I was incredibly saddened and moved by the history/persecution of the Jewish people. It's my favorite museum I’ve been to so far (tho I haven’t really been going to many museums on this trip. It’s not really my thing)
• ½ day trip to Potsdam (30 min outside Berlin). Such a beautiful city. It’s where all the German King’s Palaces and gardens are. I wish I had arrived earlier in the day. I saw so little of the town, but what I saw was jaw dropping)
• Hookah (or Shesha in other languages) Lounge with reunited Berliners! Smoked the apple flavored hookah (legal in America too mom…), played darts with Mark, and played some foosball. Oh yeah!
• Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Walking around the camp and reading all the information/stories literally brought tears to my eyes. I had such an empty/ghostly feeling walking around. Everyone should visit a concentration camp to get a better impression of the horror that took place during those years. I think it’s great that all Germans attend a field trip to a camp in school.
• Flea Market with Rhianne. Berlin is known for its flea markets, but sadly we didn’t find anything cool. We walked around the Tiergarten for a bit tho which was cool. Fall in Berlin is beautiful.
• Bar life in Berlin! Went out with Rhianne and some of her friends to a hookah (shesha) bar. There were SOOOOO many young people out on the streets! It was nuts! I’ve never seen anything like it. Floods of drunk/soon to be drunk 20 something year olds were everywhere. Oh, and me and the 4 egyptian guys we were with had a 2 hour conversation on Islam/religion. So cool.

Random

• I’m addicted to the Steven King book I’m reading (“The Drawing of the Three.” It’s part of a 7 book series called “The Dark Tower”)
• Public Transportation is still weird for me
• I got made fun of by the Berliners because I ate a couple rolls which apparently still needed to be baked for 10 minutes before eating. Ha, Ha. Laugh it up guys.
• Rhianne was kind enough to send a bag of souvenirs I’ve collected to Michelle Townshend in Munich (which is where I think I’ll be flying back home from)
• I almost went to a professional soccer match with Louisa and Phillip but had to cancel due to their schoolwork. L
• Berlin is a nice city, with a crazy nightlife, diverse people, affordable prices on food and housing, an eastern European feeling to some extent, cool parks, an extensive history, and friendly people.