My First Solo trip!

This past weekend I randomly got 3 days off, so I decided it was time to go to Berlin! I could not find anyone else with the same days off, so I just went by myself... and it was a blast!

One of the symbols of East Berlin.... the stop light walking signals look like this, signifying the ideal communist walking to work

A few friends were heading to London, so we all woke up at 5AM on Tuesday morning and headed to the airport together.  Unfortunately, my plane was delayed an hour and then I finally got on the plane and it was delayed another hour due to all the snow.  But I made it to Berlin and actually found my hostel quite easily! I spent the afternoon wandering around and made my way to the Brandenburg Gate.

 On my walk, I came across this field of snowmen. It turned out to be an anti- global warming, "Save the Snowmen" protest.

 

Brandenburg Gate

Fun fact-- right near the gate is Hotel Adlon-- the most expensive hotel in Berlin and also the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled his baby off the balcony. There were tons of police and it was highly guarded, and I soon learned that the presidents of Afghanistan and Israel were in town.  I even got stuck in Starbucks because I went to to grab coffee and warm up, and then they would not let anyone out because the presidents were going to be passing by, so lots of excitement! 

When they let us out, I went to the Reichstag... the German Parliament building. There is a huge glass dome on top that you can walk around for a good view of the city. And you can look down and see all the seats of parliament, symbolizing the the common people have the true power.

 The Reichstag

I ended the night by going to see Did you Hear about the Morgans... quite a treat to go to the movies since we don't have a theater here in Garmisch!

Day 2, I woke up and met a group of girls in my hostel who are studying in Copenhagen.  They are from all over.... Romania, Austria, Russia, and Canada.  We were all planning on taking a walking tour of the city, but the tour was supposed to start where all the commotion was with the presidents. The polizei told us there would not be a tour, so instead, we headed to West Berlin and walked down the main shopping street, Kurfurstendamm, and visited KaDeWe, one of the biggest shopping centers in the world.  We also walked through Tiergarten Park in Central Berlin and saw the huge Victory Column in the center.  After dinner, we went to see Soap-- a theater production that is kind of a mix between Cirque du Soleil, acrobatics, and theater. It was very entertaining and like nothing I've seen before.

My new friends and I in West Berlin

Day 3 I tried again for the walking tour and was successful. Had a great tour guide named Finn from Ireland.  We saw all the major sites--the Berlin Wall, Potsdamer Platz (The Times Square of Berlin), Checkpoint Charlie, Humbolt University where Einstein taught, the Holocaust memorial, Hitlers underground bunker, and several Nazi buildings. Finn had some very interesting stories, including one that his girlfriend's grandfather was the first prisoner at Auschwitz and he survived.

 

Checkpoint Charlie--One of the many checkpoints that was used to get from East to West Berlin 

We ended out tour on museum island, and sadly the Pergamon, the most famous museum in Berlin, was closed for the week due to construction. So I missed out on that, but went to the DDR Museum instead.

The Trabi-- a cheap car often used in East Berlin

Then Sara (one of the girls I met) and I went to the East Side Gallery, which is the part of the Berlin Wall that still stands, and is decorated with many different murals. It was a very moving experience.

Murals at the Wall

For my last night, I went with the girls to Unsicht-Bar (meaning "Invisible). It is a blind restaurant where all the waiters are blind and you eat completely in the dark. It was such a neat experience and very interesting to see how much you use your other senses when one is impaired.

I really enjoyed my trip and can't wait for Ireland this week, where it will hopefully be warmer!