Berlin was the last stop on my epic adventure. I left Prague very early in the morning to take the bus to Berlin. Scary story about the bus ride, we were pulled over by German police and they made us get out our passports. This was okay, but the scary part was when the lady police officer took our passports back outside and went to look at them in their cop car. Now, I had no reason to be nervous but that didn't stop me. I just kept thinking, what if they just drive away? What am I going to do then? But of course I was worrying for no reason and they brought all of them back to us. No stamp. I have come to accept that I am just not going to get a stamp from any other countries. They just don't care once you are in the EU.
Okay back to Berlin. So when we hopped off of the bus, I went looking for a metro station and that was when I met another assistant who was also traveling from Prague to Berlin. So Genna and I figured out the metro and made it to our hostels. We met up later to walk around a bit but we quickly found out that Berlin is a very spread out city. There is a lot to see and there is not just one center of town. After walking a lot, we decided we would wait until the tour the next day to really get to know the city. We had dinner at a traditional German pub and a drink at Genna's hostel bar.
The next morning, we met up with the free tour. This was the largest group of people I had ever seen for on of these free tours. The organization was pretty incredible. We had a great host, George, who was from a small town in Missouri. Not only did he really know his stuff, but he was also very entertaining.
We started our tour at Pariser Platz. In this very famous square are different embassies of the world, as well as the Brandenburg Gate. This gate has survived through many hard times of war and communism. It is a very serious, almost daunting looking piece of architecture. But beautiful just the same.
Brandenburg Gate in Pariser Platz
From Pariser Platz, we walked where the Berlin Wall used to stand until we came to the Jewish Memorial. When you first see it, it looks like a bunch of pillars and nothing special. But when you get closer, you can see that you can walk between them and they are in a grid shape. I had seen this memorial the first day I was there and not thrilled by it at the beginning. The architect of the memorial never gave a description of what exactly it was supposed to mean and how it honored the Jews that were killed during World War II. But then George gave us a really good interpretation for what it could mean. He said that as you walk through the grid, you get further and further away from the world. When you are in the center, you can barely hear the cars on the street. Maybe it could symbolize how the Jews were completely cut off from the rest of the world. He also said how easy it is to turn a corner and be separated from your friends or family. He thought this could symbolize when the Jewish people were separated from their friends and family when sent to concentration camps. It was pretty amazing to walk around inside of the memorial while thinking about these interpretations.
Inside the Jewish Memorial
Looking out on the memorial
Looking up, these pillars got really tall in the middle
a view from the outside
After the memorial, we went to the only part of the Berlin Wall that is still standing. It was pretty cool to see this site. Most of it has been torn down, but the part that stands is protected by a fence. I find it a little ironic that this thing that people were so against and wanted gone so badly, is now protected from being torn down by a fence. But it's history and we need to be reminded of what the wall stood for.
This was where the "death strip" was called. It was the 100 meters on the East side of the wall where you could try to get across with your life and then scale the wall to escape. Very few succeeded in this.
some graffiti still on the wall.
the Berlin Wall
another view
From there we went over to Checkpoint Charlie. Now everything about this checkpoint is re-created but it was cool to see where where a checkpoint from East to West was located. This checkpoint was the 3rd along the wall and the only international. This is what it looks like today.
Checkpoint Charlie
We then went over Gendarmenmarket Sqaure. There were two churches, one Catholic and one Protestant, and a concert hall in the middle. Some say it's the most beautiful square in all of Europe. In the summer time, the orchestra will sit on the steps of the concert hall and play music into the night. Luckily, we had a gorgeous day to capture the true beauty of the square. There was even a woman playing a violin. Pictures couldn't capture it all of it, so thank goodness I had my video camera.
The square
me in front of the concert hall
Here are the rest of the sites we saw on the tour:
The memorial to the fallen of war
Protestant Cathedral on Museum Island
Humbolt University. Einstein taught here. Also, this square was the site of the Nazi book burning
After we had finished for the day, Genna and I went back to a few of the free museums to look around. That night we had dinner again and then we went to the bar at my hostel. There was a soccer game on so there were a ton of people including George, our tour guide! So we hung out with him for most of the night and made friends with new people. I would definitely say this is one of the best parts of traveling by yourself.
George, me and Genna
And finally it came to the very last day of my vacation. Luckily, it was beautiful out and I walked around taking pictures of more of the sites. It was more of a relaxing day than anything else. I did go see another museum but walking around was really nice. Here are the last photos from my trip.
View of Museum Island and river
tv tower next to an old church
And that was that. Probably one of the best vacations of my life. I was nervous to travel by myself but it turned out to be an epic journey where I met a ton of wonderful people. It was a truly amazing experience and I couldn't have been happier. Thank you to everyone I met and spent time with, and everyone who wished me a happy birthday whether it was on facebook, email, or by phone. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful life and I am so thankful for all the people I share it with!
C'est la belle vie! :)
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