"If you begin by burning books..."

After stepping out of the train station, this is our very first view of Berlin -- the taxis outside the station, just as the sun is setting.

Being presented with numerous taxi options, we decided to take one to our hostel. At last, a real bed to sleep on! We sort of stumbled into it around 8 pm. The room’s pretty basic, and the whole atmosphere of the place reflects its city: colourful, friendly, modern, and relaxed. Our roommates are from Ireland and Korea.

There was a bit of a chill in the air today as we set out with a free breakfast in us and a spanking-new map in hand to do a day of touring this beautiful city. Bryan even spent an extra euro on the map to ensure its quality (what? you say! Bryan?! lol), and it proved its worthiness pretty much throughout the day.

We met up with a free tour at 11 am in front of the Brandenburg Gates. The company’s called NewEurope, and it’s got a great philosophy: why should history have a price put on it? I, for one, wholeheartedly agree with that question. The tour guides work for tips only, and our guide did a fantastic job today. In 3.5 hrs we saw most of Berlin’s main sites, and most importantly, we got an overview of what we want to see more in-depth tomorrow. The company does tours in Munich, Paris, and London as well, so we want to check those out too.

Those are the Brandenburg Gates, the most famous piece of architecture in Germany.

SO MUCH history for one place! It’s a bit odd for us, as Canadians, to see one area that has seen so much turmoil and historical change. Plus, it’s recent: Bryan and I were both alive when the wall fell! Incredible ... the effects of the 40-year division are still being seen today, despite the joy Germans felt at their re-unification in 1990.

This is the 2nd biggest piece of the Berlin Wall still standing.

So after a really good morning spent touring, we explored the Deutsches Historisches Museum, which was well-worth it (except a random 5-minute fire alarm evacuation explained only in German... we had to deduce for ourselves why all the other tourists were leaving in droves); the highlights include examples of 18th century clothing, French revolutionary flags and cockades, and original portraits of people like Martin Luther and Kaiser Wilhelm I. We also wandered into a Lutheran church, and promptly wandered back out when we saw it was under renovation. And explained only in German, again. We still enjoy the sites though, and there’s enough English-speaking going on everywhere else. Actually, except for the hostel, we’ve only eaten at American chains, sadly. Schlotsky’s Deli from Texas and Andy’s Diner from New Jersey can thank us for our patronage. That’s something we can get on tomorrow – eating some traditional German fare and, more specifically, drinking some traditional beer!

Oh, and here’s a picture for Pete- thought you’d like our surreptiously-taken photo from the Ferrari dealership we found ... note the sheepish/furtive look on Bryan’s face. If you want, we can pick a car up for you—they’re only 110,000 euros. Plus shipping.

Onto tomorrow!

P.S. The end of that saying is, "...you end by burning people". This Heinrich Heine quote, from a memorial in Bebelplatz (opposite Humboldt University), was written in 1820, but it refers to the Nazis burning thousands of books from the university in the early days of their rule. Now, there are used books sold in front of the university gates every day.