Berlin

Well, after writing that last post Stefan, Tobias, his two cousins and I went to the TV Tower in Düsseldorf. We were going to go to Köln and see the famous Cathedral, but we woke up a bit too late for that. After checking out the view and getting the aerial tour from Stefan (and taking a few photos) we all left to go to the train station. Stefan´s mom packed me an entire bag full of goodies, complete with a signed bag and note. Now THAT is hospitality.

I arrived in Berlin late at night (seems to be a habit of mine) and tried to follow the instructions that told me to go North out of the train station, as if I carried a compass on me at all time. I eventually found North (and the hostel) and slept for a few hours before I was awoken by my roommates.

At about sunrise four drunken English people (some kind of trend, I think) stumble into the room, making a ton of noise. Now, I don´t mind if you come into the room drunk and make noise, just get into bed a be quiet in the next few minutes, alright? But no, they continued to drink, smoke, talk, joke and spill drinks (which they wiped up with a pillow case) for another hour. Luckily I had some ear plugs, but they did little for me once two of them decided to have sex and pass out mid way through.

Ah, hostel life.

The next day I planned on going on an eight hour walking tour of Berlin, but it did not quite go as planned. I got up early and left (not before taking a picture of the trashed room) to go to the meeting point. I arrive there ten minutes early and wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. For an hour and a half, no one shows up. And don´t tell me I was standing in the wrong place because I was standing next to a "Brewer´s Berlin Tours Meets Here at 10:30 AM Daily!" sign.

So I went on a four hour tour of Berlin instead (through another company of course). It didn't start until 2:30, so it gave me time to explore an old abandoned department store that some artists turned into a squat/art gallery full of mostly graffiti. It was several stories and the amount of art (if you can call it that) crammed on the wall was astounding.

I walked into one gallery with about four inspiring paintings of women cutting themselves and noticed a guy (I assume the artist) sitting in a chair by an easel the entire time watching me. I spent about thirty seconds in there and decided to leave when he spoke up and said "donation please".

Me: What?
Artist: Donation required.
Me: What?
Artist: We perform a service here and require a donation.
Me: Why didn't it say that before I walked in?
Artist: It didn't need to, because I am telling you now.
(Now there is no way I am paying this guy)
Me: I didn't bring any money.
Artist: Bye.

The tour was great and informative. Berlin is so packed full of history it's almost overwhelming. It's cool seeing the sights as well as learning about them, instead of just walking by something and taking a picture. Our tour included the Reichstagg, the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall, the Holocaust memorial, the site of Hitler's bunker, the East Berlin TV tower (ask me about the Pope's Revenge), the demolition site of the former communist parliament building, and the memorial to those who died in war, just to name a few. They have been undergoing a massive rebuilding project since the Battle of Berlin, but you can still see bullet holes in the buildings.

Besides being serious about rebuilding their city, Berliners are serious about their meat, as you can see from this grill apparatus attached to this man's body. Don't tell me that doesn't get a little hot.

I met a guy named Chris (from Fairfax county) who was on the tour with me and we decided that after the tour we were going to go see the new Simpsons movie. So we checked out the giant dome at the top of the Reichstagg, got some curry wurst, and then headed to the giant Sony Center to see the movie. It was pretty fun to enjoy a movie with people from a different country. It sounds odd, but it was pretty cool.

After the movie I went to bed pretty early, because I didn't get much sleep the night before...Luckily my old roommates moved out.

Today I went to Potsdam, an old royalty retreat near Berlin. It had a bunch of cool buildings and beautiful gardens. I don't know what all of them were, but they were pretty extravagant. It is also famous for the Potsdam Conference held there with Stalin and Truman in 1945.

That night I went out with some guys I met from the hostel, but by the time they got their luggage from the train station, got ready, etc., it kind of turned into a bum night. We met some people on the street and tried to take a picture (I'm not sure why exactly...) and as we stood there the guy with the camera kept telling everyone who walked by to get in the photo until we were a huge group of strangers posing for a photograph for no reason.

So I eventually split from the guys I met originally and headed home, passing no less than twenty hookers all wearing white leather skirts and white leather boots. In case you didn't know, prostitution is very legal in Berlin and it makes for an interesting time walking home. They are quite...forward (especially if you are by yourself).

This morning I woke up and took it easy. I didn't do much because it was raining for the first half of the day, but I eventually made my way to the outdoor Berlin Wall exhibit, which explains the history of Berlin in detail from 1945 on. I also walked by the "Topography of Terror", another outdoor exhibit about the Gestapo. Appartently they ran out of money for the building, so they just stuck the displays outside for the time being, right below the Berlin Wall.

Just as a side note, being able to see the wall and walk on the path where it once was is very cool. Very cool indeed.

After that I went back to the Sony Center, got some Chinese Food and saw the new Harry Potter movie. I'm reading the new book right now, but I have to discipline myself by only reading it on the trains, otherwise I would finish it in a day. The movie was good, though. The dueling scene at the end between Voldemort and Dumbledore was incredible. Sorry, I'll stop now...

On the walk home I passed a bus station and these two guys all of a sudden jumped up and started shaking my hand and taking my picture. I suppose they thought I was someone famous, because they couldn't get enough of me. They kept asking me questions in German, and I just kept saying "ja", lest I give away my true identity. They especially loved the fact that I had gone to a movie (I had some left over popcorn with me). After a minute or two of taking pictures with me, I kept saying the only German words I know, "guten abent" and "gut nacht" (good evening and good night) and pointed to my watch as if I had somewhere important to go (I'm famous, after all). Coincidently, those words are the first words of the German lullaby I sang for my voice recital...

Even though it's Saturday night in Berlin (this city is incredibly vibrant at night) I think I am just going to head off to bed. Tomorrow I am going to Copenhagen where I will be staying with some extended Wasli family members.

I'll leave you with a picture of the hottest show in Berlin right now...