Marking Bavaria (on the map)

Our last day in Berlin was another full day seeing the sights. We saw ancient Greek statues and modern art installations at the Pergamon, and painful and sincere testimonials that Germans felt during the time of the Berlin Wall at the Museum am Checkpoint Charlie. Visiting this museum, as well as the Holocaust Memorial, is a sobering experience, especially compared to the opulence of something like the Victory Memorial. Which victory are they talking about?

We finally had the chance to have some real German food--- schweinbraten and schnitzel. Awesome. Combine that with some authentic Berliner beer and you've got yourself a traditional amazing meal. It was a bit of a change for us, considering we've been eating mostly Italian food, which seems to be available everywhere we go!

Today we visited Newschwanstein Castle, the fairytale building that King Ludwig II of Bavaria built ... it's stunning!! Sadly, it rained, so it was too foggy to see the crazy views we'd heard about. But the 2 hour train ride and subsequent 40 min walk was worth it. We'd go back again. In the sunshine.

One more day in Muniken (as Bryan calls it) and we're off to Paris! Unfortunately, we're paying for Internet tonight, so that's it for now... Feel free to leave comments-- we're also both on Facebook if you want to chat with us!

Take care!

The Day of Walking

Our second day in Berlin shall be known as the day of walking. We kept a steady pace all day, hitting up the Reichstag (German Parliament building), the Holocaust Memorial Museum, Humboldt University, the Sony Centre, the Victory Memorial, and my favourite, the Tiergarten. I'm sure it's a pretty straightforward route normally, but we unwittingly took the scenic tour a few times-- this is great, though, because it was a gorgeous day out.

The Tiergarten used to be royal grounds; now it's an extensive public park right in the centre of the city. Once you get about 100 m in, the sounds of traffic are muted and you're in a quiet sort of oasis. Loved it in there.

We tried to go out for dinner in the "Cool District", Frenzlauer Berg, but ended up right near our hostel in a place we'll call "Beck's"-- just because it was covered in beer signs. They had great Italian food; although it was awesome spaghetti, that only leaves us with one day to finally eat some true German food :). Wurst stand it is...

Tomorrow we'll tour around some more and then get on the night train to Munich-- hopefully an update then! It was great talking to the family back home tonight, though! :)

Papa, we're keeping you in our prayers tonight. Feel better soon!

"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.

From Packer to Backpacker! / Budget flight really does mean 'budget flight'

August 25 – From Packer to Backpacker!

There, I said it. Mom, your witty observation has officially made it onto my very first blog posting. After a summer of Bomag-wrassling (ie. driving the packer for Germag) I can retire from my Mobage in good faith. All those work hours are going to be completely worth it.
So, I passed airport security without a single hassle; one last crane-the-neck view of my entourage/posse of family who so thoughtfully accompanied me to the airport (despite the late departure hour) and I was off to my gate. Not a single tear (on anyone’s part) as I left either, which was an unexpected first!

All I could think while walking the long jaunt to my plane was-- I’m so ready for this. I am SO READY for this. All that remains is to actually board.

Unfortunately, my laptop won’t connect to the airport’s hotspot, so this will be posted a couple days late... more to come as more happens!

I’m off.

August 26 – Budget flight really does mean ‘budget flight’

Air Transat’s a lovely airline with a very modern vibe (and I suspect a new graphic design team), but it’s definitely for the budget traveller. It was a tight fit for the last 7 hours. However, I’m always grateful for low student prices; plus, they played Shrek the Third for the in-flight movie. I actually stayed awake to watch it. Unfortunately, I stayed awake for the rest of the flight too, kind of fitfully dozing and waking to the slightest noise. I know for a fact, though, that I’ll get better at power-napping on planes, trains, and buses ;). Even now, on the train from Frankfurt to Berlin, I’m forcing myself to stay awake to avoid jetlag.

After much confusion and wandering, Bryan (who was waiting as promised by the Arrivals gate, after an ordeal of his own- concerning a delayed flight and a lengthy stopover at Heathrow) and I managed to find the train station, activate our Eurail passes, and jump on the next train to Berlin. We were too late for a reservation though, so after mistakenly sitting in first class for a few minutes, we managed to find two seats in second class together, only to have Bryan moved by a traveller with a REAL reservation.

The German countryside is absolutely beautiful. The landscape reminds us a lot of Canada actually, but the scenery’s more rustic; there are many, many white houses with red roofs and picturesque barns. Even the token railway graffiti is quaint.

In a few hours, we will hopefully arrive at the right hostel and will have a good solid sleep before exploring the B-dot tomorrow! Some pictures to come as well!

P.S. The German language is currently indecipherable to us. We’re limited to danke and the knowledge that first class cars have a large number 1 on their doors, rather than a 2.