Ich liebe Berlin!

I <3 Berlin

If Berlin had a baseball team and a beach, I would totally live her forever. This is such a great city....rich in history, rich in culture, scenic in view, and the people are so incredibly nice!

Day 1 in Berlin was America's Independence Day for me. Ale and I began our exploration shortly after lunchtime and hit most of the major touristy spots on the first day...The Brandenburg Gate, the Parliament Building, Check Point Charlie, the remnants of the Berlin Wall. I feel like there is so much to learn here...so much history to take in. There was no way were going to hit everything in our short time here...guess its just all the more reason to go back : ) At one point, we walked near the Brandenburg Gate which opens up into a big square. The police had gathered all around the square and people were inside with megaphones and chanting and cheering for something...it turned out to be a major protest going on. Ale said they were Socialists because of the flags they were carrying. I heard later that they were protesting the conflict in Iran. Kind of neat to see. Aside from all of the scenic monuments and buildings, my favorite part of Berlin was the museum at Check Point Charlie. Check Point Charlie was the American military checkpoint in Berlin between Eastern and Western Germany. The checkpoint is actually still there in the middle of the street, and while the Berlin wall has since long been removed, they still have a cobblestone walkway that marks the wall running throughout the entire city. The museum itself has tons of photos, artifacts and stories of everything ranging from the Russian-American tensions at Check Point Charlie during the Cold War, to Kennedy's visit to Berlin, to the Eastern German's escape attempts and the deaths that occurred along the wall. It was really moving. A few blocks down the road, there is also a section of the Berlin wall that still stands. Its so strange to just stand in front of it and try to comprehend everything it represented and all that happened in the shadows of that wall...

After a long day of exploring the city, Ale and I came back to the hotel, took a short nap, and then got ready to go out. The nice Sweedish boy at the front desk gave us some nice "nightlife" areas to explore, and we made our way out under the lights of Berlin. After walking up and down the main strip, we made our way to an Indonesian outdoor bar and had a few cocktails and just talked for an hour or 2. After, we wanted to find a more happening place to celebrate my Independence Day, so we made our way to an indoor/outdoor club nearby. There, we met 2 English boys and 3 Aussies who we ended up hanging out with for the rest of the evening. The English guys (Andy and Sean Michael Murry) told me they would celebrate the 4th with me because it was the day they "got rid of us" ...a good reason to celebrate! They were joking of course. Ale mostly hung out with the Aussies who asked really stupid questions like "Can you get Aids from sharing a cigarette?" Ahhh...Yah! The rest of the night included dancing, talking...I exchanged contact information with the boys from London in hopes of meeting up with them when I visit there later this month. Overall, it was a great evening that ended much too late...but hey, I'm in Europe! Its OK to act like a college kid again right?!?

Day 2 in Berlin began as a continuation of the Disaster in Dusseldorf. Ale got up early and made her way to the Berlin airport only to find that Ryan Air did NOT put her bag on the plane to Berlin that morning. She wanted to cry. The Ryan Air employee simply told her that she got "confused" and would put it on a flight tonight (Sunday night as I write this...) so we can just pick it up as we pass throught the aiport on our way to Frankfurt and Prague tomorrow. At this point, this situation as become so ridiculous that we aren't even expecting to see her baggage ever again. So, we are sharing my 4 outfits that are still wearable between the 2 of us and making the best of things...

Ale and I went back to the Indonesian resturant we were at last night for lunch because the menu looked interesting. I had Chicken Mandasi which was super yummy but super spicy! After lunch,. we made our way to one of those double-decker city tour busses and spent the next 2 hours crusing around the city, getting pictures, and learning about the major sites. It is sooooo interesting here because they are so willing to talk about the cold war and the conflict between East and West Berlin, but we have seen absolutely NOTHING when it comes to WWII. Sure, there are some postcards you can buy with pictures of the buildings bombed out, but none of the tours talked about anything that had to do with the war, nor do any of the tourist attractions have any literature or information about WWII events. Its like Hitler never even existed here. I sort of get it. I bet most Germans are ashamed of what happened, but still, it is a part of history that I'd like to experience here.

On a side note, the people here are so friendly. I was a bit nervous coming here without Laura because neither Ale or I speak any German, but everyone I've met has been incredibly awesome about it unlike in other European coutries that I've heard about. There was the guy at the train when we arrived who spoke no English at all, but was so willing to help us. That has happened several times here. Even when we didn't need help (i.e. if we were looking at the map on the street or something) people would approach us to ask us if we needed help. Here in the city, I figured I can get by with ordering and paying for a coke without any translation of languages, but as soon as most people hear the American accent, they not only start speaking English to me, but they engage us in coversation about other things. Even the bus tour guy started speaking to Ale in Spanish. It is incredible how friendly people are here...especially considering the "German stereotype" and the few German people I know from home. Its like two completely different worlds of people. After the bus tour, we went to Madame Toussant's wax museum and spent a few hours taking goofy pictures with some of the more prominent historical and pop culture figures of Germany! That evening, we walked around the city some more before returning to our hotel before we got the call that Ale's bag had arrived at the Berlin airport! She is so untrusting of these people at this point, that we both hopped the train/bus back to the airport at 11pm tonight just to go pick it up. It was there! Ale is a much happier camper (I think). It is now almost 1am here. I need to get up at 4:30am to head back to the airport where we will fly to and spend the day in Frankfurt before flying to Prague tomorrow evening. So long, Berlin. I <3 You!