Berlin was absolutely amazing. 4 days of whirlwind activity. I arrived mid-day and checked into my hostel-Wombats, located on the east side of Berlin, near the famous TV tower. Wombats,for me, is the definition of comfort. Great chain hostel and it was nice to be so spoiled. Extraordinarily clean. So I arrived and got organized. It's always so lonely those first few minues that I arrive in a hostel. Looking to find a group of people to introduce myself to.
First, I walked around the neighborhood. There were tons of nursery-like shops and strollers but it still maintained its grittiness because the walls were COVERED in graffiti. Practically every single building in that area was tagged. Anyway, I bought some food and walked around for ages, trying to find a park onlyto realize I didn't have a fork. So, I was starving. Walked all the way back to the to-go stand and found a new, better park along the canal. I ate about half of my meal before the notorious Berlin begger woman came up to me. "Speak english?" So annoying but she caught me at a "naive" time and I was basically done with my food anyway, so I ended up giving her half my food.
Then I walked back to the hostel and met 2 Canadians, Michael and Diane, in the Wombat bar. They had been traveling for a while and were actually randomly in the same Croatia hostel earlier in Split. Diane was from Vancouver and was sarcastic, harsh but hilarious. Mike was from Nova Scotia and worked at the bank, who was funding his travel. I didn't completely understand how. We went to a Wild West bar and my tolerance was definitely low. I woke up with a bad hungover. Apparently, when I walked back to my room, one of the hostelmates, a London girl, asked how my night was and I just ignored her and passed out.
The next day, I struggled to make it to a 1pm free walking tour. But I am so glad I did. It was great. Our guide was a performance artist from California who visited Berlin and completely fell in love. During the tour, I hung out with two guys from Indiana. Anyway, the free tour was great. I feel its a more fun, personal interpretation. Her energy was infectious.
Plus, I left with a better understanding oh how in transition Berling really is and how much it has changed, is changing and how different it will be in the future. Even the differences between the East and West are small but still very noticeable. Seeing the Berlin Wall and Death Zone was incredible. and learning about the Revolt. Wow.
That night, I went on a pub crawl with Diane and Mike. According to Diane, no one was hot enough. She was brutal. But it was hilarious. I was just cracking up the whole time.
The next day, I hung out with Simone the Londoner, an Australian transplant living in London and their Estonian-English friend, Arina. I honestly had a blast with them and they were SO funny. Simone and the Estonian had never stayed in a hostel before so they were learning and the Aussie was just laughed. They also all seemed to have successful careers - graphic design, MTV and Project Manager. It made me envious of life in London, living a cool,hip, quirky life, being able to afford weekend getaways to Berlin.
We ended up going to the Berlin Zoo, which was a huge highlight. I saw a panda bear being fed. The funniest part was when he sat just like a couch potato watching tv, butt down and legs splayed, while eating a pretzal. Then, we saw the big cats, which the Woodland Park Zoo definitely lacks. It was strange though. ALL the cats were pacing, resless and bothered. It made me think something was on the brink of happening and they just wanted out.
Funny thing: The lion was growling and freaking out, so naturally, everyone was crowded around him.Then, he turns around, lifts up his tail and pees on the crowd, specifically on a poor little boy, who actually didn't seem to mind much! Funniest thing. Funny German boys.
Another funny exhibit was the polar bears. One was waving his head back and forth while walking up and down, repeatedly, without variation. I call it the Polar Bear Dance. I want to upload it with some techno music in the background.
I spent the rest of the day with the 3 girls from London. We went to a bar called White trash but we were all nearly about to pass out. Cool thing though: Simone said that I made her think Americans weren't half bad. She was pretty nice actually. Told me a lot about what to see in London, including the coast and even offered to show me around London when I arrive. But we'll see what happens.
The next day, I went on my own to see the East Side Gallery, where artists paint the last remaining pieces of the Berlin Wall. Amazing to see but its strange because you forget what the wall represented for around 50 years and you just focus on the art. Maybe that's what the ywanted. Then, I saw Checkpoint Charlie, which was interesting. But I felt bombarded by those beggar women. They just keep asking "Speak English." no. Go away. Lass mich in Ruhe!
Then, I met up with this Argentinean musician who had lived in Berlin for the past 6 years. Very interesting person and we talked about our personal lives, experiences and the philosophy towards arts. Artists are battling the doubled edge sword of becoming popular and having to define yourself.
After 4 hours, I finally called it a day and headed back to my hostel, thinking I was leaving the next night. I double-checked my ticket, as I had done a million times and then it clicked. I had booked train travel for the 7th, which it becomes at 12:00/0:00 and my train was leaving at 0:30, aka THAT NIGHT. I could not BELIEVE I made that mistake. To change it would've cost over 100€! So, I pakced in a rush, booked a night in a hostel in Amsterdam and rushed to the night train.
While taking the train to Amsterdam, I met a Kölner, who was coming back from a Young Democrats confernce in Berlin. We talked until 2am about different things. He had traveled in India for 6 months. Trains there are totally different from Geramny's clean, safe, efficient ones.
In my cabin was just one VERY NICE mother. She was coming back from meeting her best friend in Prague. She was so excited and you could tell she was loving life, especially the traveling life now her kids were growing up. She reminded me of my mom. Funny incident though: I had the top bunk and was absolutely CLUELESSon how to get up there. Because there was NO ladder! We were just cracking up. There must be some TALL German women out there but I am not one of them. Fortunately, I was able to sleep on the bottom bunk. The lady in my cabin also shared my belief about how awesome Seattle is, with everything you want 2 hours away.
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