After having a farewell BBQ the day and night before having to board a plane, Abby and I weren't our normal bright-eyed selves at 6 in the morning. After having a momentary freak out:
- Abby McNeely
8:13 which I think is cutting it too close lol just rush if you need to I feel like we need to make this one - Abby McNeely
are you doing alright?Im ready nowWe actually made it to the airport on time! After a few "uh-oh I think I need a bathroom" moments we boarded our plane and were off to Berlin! After checking into our hostel we went to Mauerpark where we went through the flea market and did some major people watching. Even though the market was packed, it was eerily quiet. I felt the need to whisper so as not to offend anyone.
I can't believe I didn't buy this.
We got some food (no idea what it was but good) and sat down to listen to some live music! It was nice to just sit and relax in the park because my head was still pounding fromthe 6 tall boys and half a bottle of wineall the water I drank the previous day.
After the park we went to a coffee shop where we might have taken a little nap. People stared. A lot of people.
The next morning we did a free 3 and a half hour Sandeman tour. Our guide took us to all the major sights in Berlin and we heard some pretty cool stories. When we got to the Berlin Wall our guide even told us in his previous tour one of the members raised his hand and said that his parents escaped to the other side of the wall in a grand piano and then they moved to New Zealand to be as far away from Germany as possible! Pretty cool.Holocaust memorial between East and West Berlin. Each concrete slab is unique in shape and size and has caused a lot of controversy.
Hitler's bunker is under there somewhere. It had to be turned into a car park so right-wing extremists wouldn't turn it into a shrine. It has not been destroyed because as our tour guide put it, "It was built by Germans!"
Nazi symbol used to be here.
Part of the Berlin Wall that still remains intact.
Checkpoint Charlie.
Sight where the burning of approximately 20,000 books with "un-German" ideas occurred. A hundred years prior to this, the German-Jewish poet said, "Wherever books are burned, human beings are destined to burn too."
Pretty hard to see because it was sunny, but this is an underground memorial to the books that were burnt- empty white bookcases.
Controversial memorial dedicated to both the Germans and Jews who lost their lives in the war. Underneath the statue is the remains of an unknown German and unknown Jew.
Pretty sure there is at least one lock bridge every place I visit, and I still take a picture.
After the tour Abby and I decided to go visit the East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall.
Ratty King!
I never actually knew how the Berlin Wall came to be taken down (call me sheltered). The story is pretty funny and I'm sure my tour-guide told it better but I'll give it a shot (note these statements might not be 100% correct but I'll do my best). Around 1988 and 1989 Communism was starting to falter in Poland, Hungary, and Czech. A press conference was held where an East German official was supposed to announce new checkpoints being opened for easier crossings between the East and West because of massive street protests. However, this official did not know much about the new rules and regulations he was supposed to be giving a press conference about because he was not been involved in the discussions, and only had a little piece of paper to go off of. He ended up giving an hour long round-about explanation of the new border crossings. When he was done, naturally every journalist had a question. One journalist asked when these changes would take effect. Since he didn't really have any idea of what he was talking about, after frantically searching his paper for information, he just made it up. "Without delay." People listening to the radio went crazy, and rushed to the Wall to start crossing over and tearing the wall down. After 28 years of separation, the Berlin Wall came down because a German official was a really bad public speaker.After re-reading that story that I just completely butchered I realized you probably won't think it's funny at all. Probably one of those things where you had to be there.Anyway. We had some nice German beer before heading in search of some food!
Schnitzel!
During dinner we met the cutest Danish family who, after hearing that we wanted to visit Copenhagen, invited us to stay in their house! So sweet.Berlin definitely wasn't pretty to look at, but the history was so interesting to learn about! I also loved the German people because unlike the Dutch (sorry Dutch friends, still love you!) they actually knew what they were talking about when asking for directions! People also get up earlier than noon, so that was a nice change. I hope to go back to Germany again to visit other parts!After a great two days in Berlin, we were off to Prague!
The Danes are the sweetest!!
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